The Advent season lasts for 4 weeks and 4 Sundays or for one month leading up to the Christmas celebration. During the Advent season, all the readings and reflections in the Liturgical calendar describe the joyful and happy atmosphere awaiting the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God.Enter your quote here...

Setting The Tone for Advent

My dear brothers and sisters, today we begin the first liturgical season of a new liturgical year: Advent. Today's readings help us to set the right tone for this season.

Prophet Isaiah in today's First Reading articulated the feeling of abandonment to sin on the part of Israel, unfaithful and fallen, and desire that the Lord return to them and set things right, no matter what the consequences. Israel, through Isaiah's lips, is tired of the long, lonely night of sin. They've turned from the Lord's path and not heeded him as they should.

The Lord has rescued them many times, and, even now, they call upon him as their "redeemer" hoping he will work similar wonders for them as he did for their forefathers. They also acknowledge that the Lord will redeem them if he comes and finds them striving to change; the redeemer responds to our efforts at righteousness. Those who are indifferent to the Lord and his ways will never find them, but Israel today shows regret for what it has done or failed to do.

Advent is a time for us to regret one of the big reasons for Our Lord's First Coming at Christmas: our sins and his desire to redeem us from them. It commemorated the time of penance before the coming of Christ when man was lost and fallen, so that when our Redeemer comes, we welcome him with even more joyous expectation.

St. Paul in today's Second Reading reminds us that with the coming of Christ the lament of Isaiah in the First Reading has been heard. Christ has come and redeemed us, and now, this Advent, we await him to come again at Bethlehem. St. Paul reminds us of all the spiritual gifts Our Lord has showered upon us thanks to his First Coming.

We live Advent already redeemed. We know how the story ends, even though with the Advent season we return to the first part of the narrative when a Fallen man was lost in sin and without hope. St. Paul today may be speaking of the Second Coming, but his words remind us that every Advent season is an opportunity for Our Lord to come into our hearts and reveal himself in a special way, building on the spiritual gifts we've already received.

Advent, in expectation for Christmas, should not be lived in a spirit of "what have you given me lately?", but, rather, recalling all that Our Lord has given us, along with the hope that he will continue to lavish his spiritual gifts on us.

Then, Jesus in today's Gospel establishes the tone for Advent, even though he is speaking of the Second Coming: vigilant expectation. The Lord first came in a way that nobody expected. Isaiah today was hoping the Lord would come and make mountains quake, but Our Lord was born a baby in a cave instead, hidden to most of the world.

A lot of knowledgeable people in the Lord's time were clueless about the time and way in which he was coming. It reminds us that many times God is not someone we figure out, but Someone who reveals himself to us. We know how the story ends, so there is no spoiler alert needed, but every liturgical season presents us with an opportunity to keep our eyes open so that we recognize when the Lord sends some special insight or grace our way.

In a conversation where we get distracted, we sometimes miss something the other person was saying. Advent is a moment for giving the Lord our undivided attention so he can guide us to a better life. He wants to have a conversation with us this season.

The Colour of Advent

The liturgical colour of Advent, except for one Sunday, is purple, and it is no coincidence that we use the same liturgical colour for Advent and Lent. During Advent, we commemorate humanity lost in sin for millennia (at least) before the coming of Christ.

Advent commemorates an extended period of sorrow and suffering for humanity. Every time we see that purple, we should remind ourselves what life was like before the coming of Christ, and what it would be like today without him. Advent provides an opportunity to do just that.

Don't Skip Advent

Everyone faces the temptation of fast forwarding their attention and concern to Christmas, and many times that takes them off track, focusing on shopping and family logistics instead of the Reason for the Season. Advent is an opportunity for each of us to meditate on the Reason for the Season and help others to do so as well.

It is a time for reflecting on our sins and asking Our Lord to continue to redeem us from them. If there's some point of spiritual growth with which we are struggling, Advent is a time not only to work on it but to pray unceasingly for the Lord's help in overcoming it. If we've become estranged from someone we love (or loved), we can ask Our Lord to help us to become reconciled.

Shopping and family logistics are a reality of this season, but they also provide a spiritual opportunity to go out of our way for others. All the organizing, planning, budgeting, wrapping, etc. is to express your love for someone, and in loving others, you love Christ. Don't forget to include something for someone who may have no one to love them. 

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The practice of praying for the dead is rooted in scripture and remains a practice of the Catholic church today.According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "All who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (CCC 1030). Purgatory is not a second chance for souls to repent. Instead, it is a state of purification for those destined to be in Heaven.

Why do we pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory? In short, because our prayers help them! Saint John Vianney said, "Consider then...the magnitude of these sufferings which the souls in Purgatory endure; and the means which we have of mitigating them: our prayers, our good works, and, above all, the holy sacrifice of the Mass"

There are many ways we can pray for the souls in Purgatory. Seven ways to do so this month and throughout the year! 

1. Request a Mass to be offered for the repose of souls.
2. Mortifications throughout your day can be offered up for the purification of souls in Purgatory!
3. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
4. Pray for the Office of the Dead.
5. Make Sacrifices for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
6. Add the "Eternal Rest" Prayer to Your Regular Prayer Routine
   Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
7. Visit a Cemetery and Pray for the Departed
   Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy! Take the time to visit the graves of loved ones–or even strangers. Some so many souls are not prayed for.
8. Pray Saint Gertrude's Prayer for Souls in Purgatory. It is said that this powerful prayer can release 1,000 souls from Purgatory!
   "Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and my family. Amen."
9. Good works

In praying for the faithful departed, I'm reminded of this powerful quote from Venerable Fulton Sheen:
"As we enter heaven, we will see them, so many of them coming towards us and thanking us. We will ask who they are, and they will say a poor soul you prayed for in Purgatory." 

Each year, as we celebrate the Commemoration of the Holy Souls, may the God of all consolation "bless us with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life."And as the closing prayer of mass for All Souls reminds us, "To us who are alive may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light, happiness, and peace."

"All who die in God's grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven."

(CCC, 1030)

How can we experience a peaceful and happy death in the future?If we prepare for our death. We do this by contemplating our death. We may not want to think about our death because we are afraid of the death we are bound to face.

St. Therese of the Child Jesus, on the other hand, enjoyed contemplating death, even her death. Her favourite place for meditation and prayer was the monastery cemetery. Even St. Therese longed for her death. Because for Therese life in this world is not our real life. Our true life is to live in Heaven together with God the Father. The only way to eternal life is death.

By contemplating death, we are invited to always be on guard and always ready. We will always try to live according to God's will and please God. In this way, when the time of death comes, we face it with peace and happiness.

Besides contemplating our death, we also devote ourselves to St. Joseph, the protector of the dead souls and peaceful death. It is said that at the end of his life, Joseph died peacefully in his home in Nazareth and was cared for at the time of his death by his spouse, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ.

So, if you, too, desire a peaceful death, become friends with Joseph! The first step on your to-do list is to gain and maintain a state of grace for your soul. Make a good Confession frequently and receive the sacraments regularly, detach yourself from sin, and live a life pleasing to God.

Grow in your relationship with St. Joseph. It is said that St. Joseph will intercede on behalf of those who have a devotion to him for a peaceful end to their earthly life. The Joseph connection then is that when we die, we could surely benefit by praying to have Jesus, Mary and Joseph at our bedside to help usher us to eternity.

Here's a beautiful prayer intercession through Saint Joseph: 

We Don't Know WHEN Christ Will Come Again, but We Do Know THAT He Will Come Again

My dear brothers and sisters, in today's Gospel Jesus gave us a parable of ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And at the end of the Gospel, Jesus himself sums up the meaning of his parable: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." It's so easy to forget this.

We go on living as if we think this earthly life will go on forever. Nothing is further from the truth. Death is not a distant point in the future, an endpoint of our lives. Rather, it accompanies us each step of the way and could come upon us at any time. And history itself will also die, come to an end.

When will this last day happen? There are only two possibilities. Either Christ will come again, bring an end to history, and establish his Kingdom definitively before we die; Or before that, he will come to each of us at the moment of our death, and to each of our loved ones, and bring us to his judgment seat individually.

There is no doubt about this; our Lord has revealed it. And the Church today is asking us to think about it, to remember it, to have a living faith in it.

The Nearness of Christ's Second Coming

The Christian community in the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica, to which St. Paul wrote the Letter we listened to in the Second Reading, had a problem.

They were first-generation Christians, and the first generation was convinced that Christ's Second Coming was right around the corner. (His "Second Coming" is the one we profess faith in every Sunday when we pray the Creed: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.")

But it didn't happen the first year after his Ascension, nor the second. And then a few more years passed, and still, he didn't return. And it so happened that some of the believers of the community in Thessalonica died, and Christ still hadn't come. And the remaining Christians were worried about their brothers and sisters who had died.

Since they were already dead, they were going to miss Christ's Second Coming, so they thought. And as a result, some Thessalonians thought their relatives wouldn't be able to come with the rest of them into Christ's definitive Kingdom. They were lost because they had died too soon!

St. Paul corrects their mistaken understanding. He explains what we already know and profess every Sunday: that when Christ comes again, both the living and the dead will be brought before him to receive their reward, be it eternal life with him forever in heaven, or eternal separation from him forever in hell. Jesus is Lord and Savior and Judge of both the living and the dead.

But St. Paul doesn't try to convince the Thessalonians that Christ isn't coming soon. That conviction isn't a mistake. Christ is coming soon. He either comes soon for each one of us, which we call death, or he'll be coming soon to bring history itself to its end and fulfilment.

These are truths of our faith, and we shouldn't ignore them; today we have a chance to reflect on them.

November Perspective

For Catholics, the month of November has long been a time to put things into perspective. It's the month when the liturgy reminds us that our Lord will come again, and that this life is not all that there is.
The wisdom and peace of mind that come from reflecting on these truths, in the light of Christ's love, are incalculable. But we have to put forth the effort to make that reflection. We have to take time to contemplate the changing natural season, or visit the graves of loved ones, or spend more time with the sick and the dying or read about the past history of salvation and God's plan for the future.
In this Mass, Christ will come once again to offer himself to each one of us, pledging his faithfulness and the glory to come our way if we stay faithful to him. As he does, let's make a promise.
Let's promise our Lord that we will do something concrete to make this month different, to put our personal life in harmony with the Church's deep meditation on the Last Things. And let's not leave this building until we've decided what that "something" will be.

Our Lady and Souls in Purgatory

The existence of purgatory — where all those souls who die in the state of sanctifying grace and yet still have to undergo a period of purgation before entering the kingdom of God, because according to Scriptures nothing sin will enter heaven — is a dogma of our Catholic faith.

This is how St. Faustina described purgatory: "I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently for themselves but to no avail for only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. They answered me in one voice, that their greatest torment was longing for God."

She saw Our Lady visiting these souls. All the Holy Souls in purgatory call her "The Star of the Sea." As she was leaving, St. Faustina heard a voice say to her, "My mercy does not want this, but justice demands it." The church teaches that once in purgatory, those souls cannot gain any more merit to help themselves. They rely on our charity, our prayers, our sufferings and our sacrifices. But even if we should forget those in purgatory, Our Lady cannot forget them because she loves all her children, especially those who need her most.

Our Lady once said to St. Bridget, "I am the Mother of all the souls in purgatory, and I am Mother of Mercy to these my children who are in the greatest need of my assistance, since in their torments they cannot help themselves."

St. Bernardine of Siena says "that in that prison where souls that are spouses of Jesus Christ are detained, Mary has a certain dominion and plentitude of power not only to relieve them but even to deliver them from their pains."

Again, she told that as a compassionate Mother, she condescends to go herself often into that Holy Prison to visit and comfort her suffering children. To her children who are devoted to the recitation of the Holy Rosary every day, Our Lady promises "to personally deliver them from purgatory herself." That promise is pictured in the painting of the Last Judgment by Michaelangelo, where Our Lady is seen pulling two souls out of purgatory by means of the chain of the Holy Rosary.

And how about Our Lady's second great scapular promise known as the "Sabbatine Privilege," which was given by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Pope John XXII in the year 1322: "Those who wear the Scapular and fulfill two other conditions (Chastity and Prayer) can obtain early liberation from Purgatory, through the special intercession of the Virgin Mary, on the first Saturday after their death, the day consecrated to her."

St. Bernadine of Siena said the Blessed Virgin has the power of delivering souls from purgatory, but more particularly those who were most devoted to her.

The church teaches that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most effective means of assisting souls in purgatory. Another effective means is reciting the rosary. By the rosary, we offer to God all the merits of Our Lord in union with Mary for the suffering souls.

How much it must please Our Lady when we offer the rosary in union with her to liberate her suffering children from that holy prison to be with her in heaven, and in the process, she promises to also liberate us from that prison to be with her forever. 

The Message is What Matters, Not Prestige

My dear brothers and sisters, all readings at 31^st Sunday Mass remind us that our receptivity to a message should not be determined by our esteem or scorn for the messenger, but by whether that message is true. When we are the messengers, we must also remember that anything we do to contradict the message hinders even the truest things we try to share.

In the book of Malachi, the Lord laments the fact that his priests are playing favourites instead of carrying out the office entrusted to them. Priests are held to a high moral standard, even today, and when they do not live up to it, their lifestyle sends the wrong message and imparts the false teaching.

Jesus in the Gospel Matthew does not criticize the Pharisees so much for what they teach as much as for what they do. They do not do what they teach. Being revealed as a hypocrite is one of the most detestable things imaginable. A hypocrite transmits two contradictory messages and, even when one of them is true, he clouds the ability to get to the truth. The Lord today warns the priests who are showing partiality and hypocrisy that their blessings will become curses: when the truth is revealed about them an apparent blessing is revealed to be a lie for everyone to see.

St. Paul in his first letter to Thessalonians paints another portrait of a minister of God: a humble, caring, and loving messenger. Humility is about speaking the truth, no matter what the consequences. Paul's actions show his sincerity in holding himself up as an example not only of a shepherd of souls but of any believer.

He has put the Lord's invitation to be meek and humble of heart into practice, seeing his ministry as one akin to a nursing mother. Like the mother of a newborn, he not only nourishes them on the Gospel but offers them his very self. His motivations are not selfish: he cares for them because he loves them. Unlike the burdensome Pharisees Our Lord decries in today's Gospel; he doesn't seek to be a burden to anyone. In Acts, it is mentioned that he practiced his livelihood (tent making) while carrying out his ministry (see Acts 18:1-3; 20:33-35). He didn't seek out money but was grateful when it was offered to help him help others (see Philippians 4:14-16). It wasn't about the money. If any servant of Our Lord were just in it for the money, they would probably change careers (see Paul's "boast" in 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 if you want a job description). Paul received satisfaction from knowing that through his example the Thessalonians truly believed that he had shared the word of God with them and put it into practice as a result. Every servant of Our Lord couldn't be happier if he helped someone in this way.

In today's Gospel Jesus makes an admonition to the disciples that for us has become an essential rule of thumb: practice what you preach. He also reminds us that with prestige and recognition come expectations. All believers are brothers because they all share one Father in Heaven, and they are all disciples because they follow the teachings of one Master, Christ. Through baptism we've all received an equal dignity in the eyes of God, and when any member of the Church forgets that other members of the Church suffer through their bad example. At the same time, Our Lord does not deny that the scribes and Pharisees whom he is criticizing have an authority that comes from Moses that is to be respected.

Today there are some who are tempted to discard the preaching because certain preachers do not practice it. That's not what Jesus teaches us. It's sad when a preacher gets in the way of the message by putting himself first, but if he is preaching what has been handed down to us from Christ through the apostles and their successors, it is still a teaching that is necessary for us, because it is true. That's the ultimate criterion for accepting anyone's message: whether it is true or not. Prestige or infamy don't change what's true.

The core lesson today to bishops, priests, and deacons is not to let themselves get in the way of communicating the message: it's not about ego, titles, or honours, but, instead, about communicating the message Our Lord has entrusted to the Church's pastors through the centuries. This is a lesson for every believer: through our bad example we can hinder the spread of the Gospel, the message everyone needs to hear and believe.

Our Lord also reminds us today that with prestige and recognition comes expectation: the expectations we have, but also the expectations of others. When we seek recognition or prestige for their sake, climbing the social ladder, trying to get ahead in life, etc., at some point, we come to the realization, if we're fortunate, that we're milking past glories instead of doing the things that'd merit recognition. That's vainglory.

Even if we don't realize it, we can be sure that others do. Jesus puts us on guard against resting on our laurels, as some scribes did, who focused on maintaining and increasing their prestige instead of helping people to understand God's word, which is what they were trained to do, and what was expected of them.

If we focus on giving the best of ourselves for the sake of others, receiving recognition for it or not doesn't matter to us. This is a healthy way of keeping our accomplishments from getting to our heads.

True Friends Level with You

When someone is struggling with substance abuse, sometimes their loved ones and the professionals helping them resort to some "tough love" through what is called an intervention, hoping a loving shock to the addict's system will help him seek help. The addict is confronted in a safe environment about his destructive behaviour by loved ones (and one or more professionals who help arbitrate and provide professional advice) and offered an immediate opportunity to seek rehabilitation (usually they arrange a place for the addict to go before they confront him).

Each loved one in the intervention writes in advance and presents: How they have been wrongly affected personally by the addict's behaviour; Changes they have noticed in the addict's personality, reliability and self-control; The overall impact that the addicted person's behaviour has had on their relationship; Dreams and goals they have for the addict post-treatment; A statement of unconditional love for the addict, but a promise that the intervener can no longer help the addict destroy himself.

You can imagine the reaction of a person in the grip of addiction as he hears his loved ones telling him truths, he may not want to hear anger, confusion, paranoia, denial. Deep down he knows the message is true and those he loves are trying to help him face the truth. True friends' level with you.

The Invisible Messenger

My dear brothers and sisters, if a courier walked into your office and was rude it would reflect poorly on his company. Imagine how our conduct reflects on what people think of Christians. Let's ask Our Lord today to help us be good brothers and disciples who share his message with those who need it without ego trips so that they welcome the message and don't get hung up on the messenger. Let's stand out this week as being messengers of the Gospel who don't stand out in any way that would contradict the Gospel we share. 

Let us die with Christ, to live with Christ!

We see that death is gain, life is loss. Paul says: For me life is Christ, and death a gain. What does "Christ" mean but to die in the body, and receive the breath of life? Let us then die with Christ, to live with Christ. We should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death. By this kind of detachment our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body. It must soar above earthly lusts to a place where they cannot come near, to hold it fast. It must take on the likeness of death, to avoid the punishment of death. The law of our fallen nature is at war with the law of our reason and subjects the law of reason to the law of error. What is the remedy? Who will set me free from this body of death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We have a doctor to heal us; let us use the remedy he prescribes. The remedy is the grace of Christ, the dead body our own. Let us then be exiles from our body, so as not to be exiles from Christ. Though we are still in the body, let us not give ourselves to the things of the body. We must not reject the natural rights of the body, but we must desire before all else the gifts of grace.

What more need be said? It was by the death of one man that the world was redeemed. Christ did not need to die if he did not want to, but he did not look on death as something to be despised, something to be avoided, and he could have found no better means to save us than by dying. Thus, his death is life for all. We are sealed with the sign of his death; when we pray, we preach his death; when we offer sacrifice we proclaim his death. His death is victory; his death is a sacred sign; each year his death is celebrated with solemnity by the whole world.

What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.

Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life was condemned because of sin to unremitting labour and unbearable sorrow and so began to experience the burden of wretchedness. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.

The soul has to turn away from the aimless paths of this life, from the defilement of an earthly body; it must reach out to those assemblies in heaven (though it is given only to the saints to be admitted to them) to sing the praises of God. We learn from Scripture how God's praise is sung to the music of the harp: Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not revere and glorify your nature? You alone are holy; all nations will come and worship before you. The soul must also desire to witness your nuptials, Jesus, and to see your bride escorted from earthly to heavenly realities, as all rejoice and sing: All flesh will come before you. No longer will the bride be held in subjection to this passing world but will be made one with the spirit.

Above all else, holy David prayed that he might see and gaze on this: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I shall pray for: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to see how gracious the Lord is. 

The Church has encouraged prayers for the dead from the earliest centuries as an act of Christian charity. As early as the second century, Christians commemorated the remembrance of the dead, especially of the martyrs. The day of remembrance for the dead that we practice today originated in the seventh century and it is known that Saint Isadore of Seville promoted it. The monks of Cluny instituted November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints, and in the fourteenth century, Rome spread that practice to the universal Church. The practice of offering three masses on this day began in Spain in the fifteenth century. It was Pope Benedict XV who spread this privilege to the entire Church.

The celebration of All Holy Souls Day recalls the suffering and death of Christ, which gives meaning to the death of the Christian faithful. As we have died with Him, so shall we share in His resurrection. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and belief in our resurrection should assure us to take life seriously. Death is not something that we as Christian face with fear; it is not a threat to our lives. If we understand it as the necessary prelude to resurrection, then it will help us to determine how to live. We will then consider our time in this life as a series of opportunities for believing, hoping, loving, and growing. Such opportunities are unique, are gifts from God, and will not be repeated. So, we should not miss them!

Our destiny has been designed by the same Father who raised Jesus from death. He wants us to join his Son in glory where we will live with more intensity than ever before, and forever. All Souls is a feast of God's triumph, in Jesus, over sin and death, and "a promise that we will one day enjoy the vision of God's glory in the kingdom where hope is firm for all who love, and rest is sure for all who serve." (Sr. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, in Scripture in Church, v. 15, n.60, p.403).

Perhaps we will be more conscious of the Communion of Saints, which the Church teaches at every Mass, where our deceased loved ones join the Lord and the visible priest in the sanctuary. We are much closer to them at Mass than at any cemetery. They are always with the Lord, and He is with us as the true Celebrant of every mass.

When we pray for them, we experience a wonderful communion of help and companionship. They pray for us and look forward to our reunion one day. We can be aware too that we are also making our way to the fullness of life and happiness in Jesus. That life is the gift that He has won for us.

Each year, as we celebrate the Commemoration of the Holy Souls, may the God of all consolation "bless us with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life." And as the closing prayer of mass for All Souls reminds us, "To us who are alive may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light, happiness, and peace." 

Love for God and Neighbour Cannot Be Separated

My dear brothers and sisters, the "law and the prophets" that Jesus refers to in the Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 were considered by the Jews to contain the absolutely unique self-revelation of the one, true God to his only Chosen People. Possessing this revelation made ancient Israel more privileged than all other nations and peoples.

Therefore, when the Pharisee (who, like all Pharisees, was an expert in "the law and the prophets") asks Jesus to identify the greatest among the 613 commandments of the Old Testament, he is really challenging Christ to give an interpretation of the entire history and reality of the Israelite nation. We can imagine Christ fixing his eyes on those of the questioner, wondering how sincere the question really was.

St Matthew doesn't tell us how the Pharisee reacted, but we can imagine that he was surprised, if not downright shocked. Jesus had been asked to name one commandment, but then he listed two. The shrewd Pharisees would have noticed this.

In listing two commandments, Jesus was pointing out that you cannot separate loving God from loving one's neighbour. And that's exactly what many of the Pharisees did every single day.

God is our Creator and Savior; his love is both universal and personal. He loves every single human being so much that he gave his life on the cross to pay the price for each person's sin, to open the gates of heaven to every single person who is willing to follow him.

And so, if someone truly loves God with all their heart, it would be a contradiction not to treat one's neighbours - those very people whom God loves and suffered to save - with sincere and self-sacrificing respect. The old saying applies above all to God: A friend of yours is a friend of mine.

St. Almachius Beats the Gladiators

This is one of the great differences between Christian saints and the wise spiritual heroes of other religions: the saints learn to be close to God, but they also learn to constantly go out of their way to serve their neighbors.

One surprising example is the case of St Almachius [ahl- MAHK-ee-uhs]. He lived in Palestine around the year 400. From an early age he felt called to love God wholeheartedly by following a life of prayer and penance. For many years he lived as a hermit in the desert wastelands, doing just that. Eventually, however, the Holy Spirit entrusted him with a surprising mission to his neighbors.

Even though Christianity by this time was the Roman Empire's official religion, the infamous and very pagan gladiatorial combats were still regularly held in the Roman coliseum. The Romans loved those "sporting events," which inevitably resulted in unjust, bloody, and cruel deaths for valiant men.

Many gladiators were prisoners or slaves being forced to entertain the crowds by their gruesome combat, as if they were no better than savage beasts. It was a frontal assault against the human dignity of these men who had been created in God's image and redeemed by Christ.

Driven by the Holy Spirit, Almachius made his way to Rome when one such event was in full swing. He entered the amphitheatre, climbed down to the arena floor, and interposed himself between the primary combatants, who were engaged in their death struggle.

This scrawny hermit did his best to separate them, invoking the name of the Lord. The fans, thirsty for blood, were furious. They hurled every manner of projectile at the unprotected monk, stoning him to death.

Fortunately, the Emperor heard about the affair and took it as a sign from God. From then on, such beastly games were forbidden; Christian love had been victorious.

A Secret Weapon for Christ-like Love

In today's world, people are very busy. Sometimes we even feel much too busy to take time to reach out to neighbours in need. It is very possible, however, that at the end of our life we will see things quite differently. But even in the midst of our busy-ness, we can make an effort to love God by loving our neighbour, precisely in the way we interact with the people around us.

A true Christian should always remember that people matter more than things. We should never be too busy for a kind word or a sincere smile. But those of us who really are super-busy can also make use of a secret weapon that allows us to do more in less time, to fulfill both of Christ's two great commandments in one action.

And it doesn't add anything at all to our to-do list or calendar. It's so simple that you might be tempted to shrug it off when I tell you - but that would be a major mistake. What is this secret weapon? Praying for other people.

When we pray for people, we are exercising both loves at the same time: we show our love for God by talking to him and expressing confidence in his goodness and power, and we show our love for our neighbour by caring about them. Each one of us should have a list of people we pray for regularly - family members, coworkers, orphans, politicians, Christians suffering persecution...

We should keep the list somewhere that we will have a chance to use it - near the windshield of the car or the counter where we fold the laundry... (The pope keeps his on his kneeler, where he does his morning and evening prayers.)

To pray regularly and sincerely for others - it's the secret weapon for loving God and loving our neighbour. During the Mass, let's promise to use that weapon well. 

Every Christian Is a Missionary

My Dear Brothers and sisters, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and do a missionary works. "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

Jesus promise that He will accompany us until the end. However, we need endurance to do the missionary work. The Greek word for endurance was "hypomeno," [hoop-OH-mehn-oh] and its literal (etymological) meaning was to stay firm under. It could mean the firmness of a foundation that gives stability under a building. Or it could mean the firmness of someone who stands his ground when he is under attack. This kind of firmness is a key characteristic for Christians because every Christian is a missionary. It is not our job just to sit back and enjoy life, like the pagans and the hedonists who don't know the gospel.

Every Christian, every single one of us here today, is called by God to fulfill a mission in this world, to do something for Christ and the Church that no one else can do. We are Christ's soldiers, spreading his message into our corner of the world with our words, example, and actions. This Sunday is World Mission Sunday, we are called to pray and support the Church's full-time missionaries, the Church's courageous Special Forces.

The late Pope Benedict XVI once said: "The missionary mandate continues to be an absolute priority for all baptized persons... "It is therefore an urgent duty for everyone to proclaim Christ and his saving message... "Today there are countless people who are waiting for the proclamation of the gospel, those who are thirsting for hope and love..."Pope Francis, in his message for World Mission Sunday 2023, based on the story of the disciples who encounter Jesus on their way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35), invites all of us to "set out once more, illumined by our encounter with the risen Lord and prompted by his Spirit. Let us set out again with burning hearts, with our eyes open and our feet in motion. Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity."

This is our mission - every one of us. And the powers of evil at work in this fallen world, the same powers that crucified Jesus and populated the 2000-year history of the Church with thousands of Christian martyrs, those same powers of evil are working against us. Only the strength of true Christian hope can give us the joy and fortitude we need to persevere in our life-mission.

Christians Need to Keep Hope Healthy

At the beginning of this Letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, a city in northern Greece (modern-day Macedonia), St Paul uses a very interesting and very important phrase. He praises the Thessalonians for their "endurance in hope." This is not a popular phrase nowadays. And yet, St Paul puts it right up there with the "work of faith" and the "labor of love" as a key characteristic of Christian life.

Thessalonica was the second city in Europe where Paul had a chance to preach the Gospel. His preaching was well-received by many, and a local Christian church was founded there. But after a few weeks, some of the local leaders became so jealous of Paul's success that a violent mob raised a city-wide demonstration against him. Paul's new converts had to sneak him out of the city at night to bring him to safety. After he left, the Christians there continued to suffer persecution and hardship in the face of the old guard who felt threatened by the new religion. This is why "endurance" was so important for them: they were constantly being tempted to go back to their old ways, the easier and more comfortable ways.

We are also constantly facing this temptation. Being a faithful Catholic in a society full of anti-Catholic and anti-Christian influences demands non-stop effort and vigilance. What will enable us to keep up our effort?

The same thing that enabled the Thessalonians to keep up theirs: hope. The Thessalonians firmly trusted in Christ's promise that God himself would always walk beside them, guiding and protecting them on their journey to the abundant and eternal life that only Christ can give. Our great task in life is to endure, to persevere. And we can do that, if we keep our hope healthy.

Nourishing the Virtue of Hope

So, what can we do to strengthen our hope? Two things: nourish it and exercise it. We nourish hope by feeding our minds with knowledge about Christ's countless victories.

In the Bible, in the history of the Church, in the lives of the saints, and in the current experiences of active Catholics and missionaries around the world, we can find case after case in which God's grace has won a victory over sin, sorrow, suffering, and evil.

But we have to decide to pay attention to those things. If we just go with the flow of popular culture, we will be filling our minds with superficial gossip, tragic news that is gruesome, frightening, and spectacular enough to get good ratings on television, or worse.

But it's never enough just to eat right, we also have to exercise. We nourish hope by filling our mind with knowledge of Christ's victories, and we exercise hope by saying yes to God's invitations.

God is always inviting us to something. As the Catechism puts it: God "never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness" (#30). God may be inviting some of those here to follow him as a full-time missionary, priest, religious, or consecrated lay person.

God may be inviting others simply to take a little less time for self-indulgence and a little more time for self-giving, in prayer, service to our neighbors, or both. Whatever invitation he is making, when we say yes, we exercise hope, and therefore strengthen our Christian hope - the key to enduring life's trials joyfully and meaningfully.

In today's Mass, as Christ proves once again that he is worthy of our trust, let's promise him that this week we will take concrete steps to nourish and exercise our Christian hope.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard firmly believed that the closer someone was to Mary, the closer they were drawn to Jesus in the Eucharist.

On May 13, 1856, French priest Saint Peter Julian Eymard founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious order dedicated to spreading a deep and profound love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

St. Peter Julian Eymard firmly believed that there existed an intimate connection between devotion to the Virgin Mary and the Blessed Sacrament, and frequently invoked Our Lady under the title of "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament." After Saint Eymard's death, May 13 became a feast dedicated to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and is still celebrated today by his congregation.

During his life, Eymard wrote a series of reflections that were compiled in a book titled, Month of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, consisting of daily meditations for May. In it, he explains how Mary was the first "adorer" of Jesus and is the "Model of Adorers."

Jesus has left us His Divine Mother to be the Mother and Model of Adorers … It was Mary first adored the Incarnate Word. He was in her womb, and no one on earth knew it. O how well was Our Lord served in Mary's womb! Never has He found a ciborium, a vase of gold more precious, or purer than Mary's womb. Mary's adoration rejoiced Him more than that of all the angels. "The Lord hath placed His tabernacle in the sun," says the Psalmist. That sun is Mary's heart … At Bethlehem, Mary was the first to adore her Divine Son lying in the crib. She adored Him with the perfect love of a Virgin Mother.

This example of Mary should inspire us to behold and adore our Eucharistic Lord, truly present in the consecrated host. The more we ponder the life of Mary, the more we can see how much time she must have spent looking at and adoring her Son, the savior of the world.

The next time you visit a Catholic Church and see the tabernacle that holds the Blessed Sacrament, think about the Virgin Mary and how she would have beheld her Son in a most pure and loving gaze. Through this adoration, we can inflame within our hearts a deeper love of God.

Here is a short prayer composed by Saint Eymard that asks Our Lady to intercede for us to become worthy "adorers" of her Son.

O Mary, teach us the life of adoration!
Teach us to find, as thou didst, all mysteries and all graces in the Eucharist,
to live the Gospel over again, and to read it in the Eucharistic Life of Jesus!

Remember, Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, that thou art the Mother of all adorers of the Holy Eucharist.

God's Generosity Is Unlimited

My dear brothers and sisters, St Paul ends his Letter to the Philippians with a phrase that seems to be a gigantic exaggeration. Paul is writing this Letter from prison, probably in Rome, but maybe in Ephesus. He is encouraging the Christians in Philippi to hold onto the true faith, and above all to keep their fellowship united through humility and Christian charity. Throughout this Letter Paul pens some of his most famous phrases. At the beginning of the last Chapter, he told the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord - rejoice in the Lord at all times!" (Philippians 4:4). And in the passage, we just listened to, we heard a sentence that throughout twenty centuries has given supernatural strength to Christians suffering sickness, persecution, and horrible martyrdoms: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

In this Letter Paul also thanks the Philippians for the monetary help they gave him. Usually, Paul tried to be economically self-sufficient, so that his critics would not be able to spread lies saying that his preaching was motivated by greed. But in this case, he accepted the gift. And at the very end of the Letter, he reminds them that God will never be outdone in generosity. He writes, "My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

This short phrase reveals the limitlessness of Paul's confidence in God. It is a confidence based on the limitlessness of God's resources, generosity, and goodness. It is his way of reiterating what today's Psalm told us so beautifully: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want... Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil..." This is our God! This is our Lord! Abundant in his generosity, limitless in his mercy. How good it is for us to be reminded of this again and again!

God Wants to Throw Us a Banquet

The same message comes across powerfully in today's Gospel. The king in the parable is inviting a huge number of people to a colossal wedding banquet. He is so intent on sharing his joy and bounty that when the first group of invited guests refuses to come, he gathers a troop of strangers to share his table! His generosity depends not primarily upon what the people deserve, but upon his own abundant goodness. No one had earned an invitation to the feast; it wasn't a prize for the most talented and gifted members of his kingdom; it was purely the king's initiative - a beaming example of true nobility and magnanimity.

This is an image of Christ, our Lord and King. His is a feast of grace, an overflowing banquet of everlasting life that begins now with baptism and reaches its fulfilment in heaven. No one can deserve that; it springs from his bountiful generosity, from his longing to share with us the indescribable joy of his own divine existence. By the mere act of accepting such an invitation we honour and please him; we let him love us.

The evil of sin, of self-centeredness, stems ultimately from its ingratitude. Those who declined the invitation blocked the flow of the kings of generosity – they separated themselves from his goodness. Our first duty in relation to God consists in humbly accepting his generous gifts, in letting him be for us the kind of King he really is.

Jesus tells this parable in the hearing of those Jewish leaders who had been consistently rejecting his signs and teachings for the last three years.When they still don't repent, Jesus doesn't give up on them. Rather, he turns the parable into reality, and makes his limitless generosity physically visible - by dying on the cross.

Conquering Discouragement and Being Like Christ

God has reminded us today that his mercy and generosity are unlimited. There are two very practical consequences of this truth. First, it is the only thing that can save us from discouragement. When we look honestly into our souls, we find a lot of deep wounds, pains, unresolved conflicts, and ingrained selfish tendencies. This is because we have all been affected by original sin and this fallen world. Whenever we see this part of ourselves, it can stir up strong emotions of anger, resentment, self-hatred, depression, discouragement, or even despair. These emotions are damaging to us and those around us; they can paralyze our lives. That's when we most need to remember that God is bigger than our deepest misery. God's generosity and mercy are limitless. Compared to them, our failings, needs, and sinfulness are like a Dixie-cup full of dishwater compared to the ocean. Whenever we come face-to-face with our own misery, through prayer and confession we must run back to the side of our Good Shepherd, who knows exactly what we need.

The second practical consequence of this truth is that it shows us how we should treat other people. Jesus told his Apostles during the Last Supper, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). If his mercy and goodness towards us are without limit, as the crucifix proves, then ours should be without limit too. Of course, we can't live that way if we depend only on our own strength. But Jesus knows that which is why, in just a few minutes, he is going to come and give us another share of his strength through Holy Communion. When he does, let's promise that this week, we will use it well. 

Who is the Third Order of Carmelites?

The Third Order of Carmel is an association mainly of lay persons. Its members, responding to a special call of God, freely and deliberately commit themselves "to live in the following of Jesus Christ" according to the charism, traditions, and spirit of Carmel in union with the Prior General of the Carmelite Order. The members, though not in Religious Life, choose to live out their baptismal commitment according to the spirit of the Carmelite Order. Members are brothers and sisters of the Carmelite Family and share in the same call to holiness and in the same mission of the Carmelite Order.The Carmelite Order is enriched by the faithful who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, order their lives according to the Gospel and in the Carmelite spirit. The Third Order and the other forms of Carmelite laity influence the spirit and the structure of the entire Carmelite family (Const. 2019 n. 114)

The Third Order member is connected to the Carmelite Order by means of the promise which he or she makes. It is possible, following a very ancient custom, to make private vows of chastity and obedience according to one's state in life in order to be consecrated more closely to God.

The Third Order, filled with the spirit of the Order, seek to live their own vocation by silently listening to the Word of God (Lectio Divina). According to the constant tradition of Carmel, they will especially cultivate prayer in all its forms. The members of the Third Order take their inspiration from the figures of Our Lady and the Prophet Elijah.

How Is the Third Order of Carmelite Meaningful In The Church Today?

Third Order Carmelite is called to the family of Carmel to be deeply involved in the mission of the Church, making his or her life a prayer listening to the Word, and finding in Mary and the prophet Elijah the models for a Christian witness in the world.

The Statutes of Carmel state "The call to Carmel, a call to seek God's will in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life, roots Lay Carmelites in a love of those with whom they live and work, in the search for God's face, and in solidarity with God's people everywhere."

What Are Some of The Advantages?

The Lay Carmelite becomes a member of the Carmelite family and shares in the work, prayer and benefits of the Order of Carmel. This life offers one a great opportunity to grow in the contemplative spirit, the imitation of Christ and the emptying of self so that God can be our all. The joint effort to form a community with others of like values is a blessing.

Is God calling you to be a Carmelite?

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If You Want Peace and Joy, Give God and Others Their Due

My dear brothers and sisters, anyone who rents knows the basics of being on good terms with your landlord: pay the rent in full and on time, don't be a nuisance to your neighbours, and keep your place clean. The alternative is late fees, eviction (forcible or otherwise), and lawsuits.

Today's reading talk about landlord. The landlord in today's Gospel is incredibly patient with his tenants. That shows something deeper is going on. He cares about his tenants, above and beyond the call of duty, he gives them innumerable chances until he can give them no more.

In today's First Reading Isaiah describes the misuse and abuse of the people of Israel by their leaders as being like vines ripe for cultivation and left unattended. Vineyards evoke images of careful cultivation by skilled vintners with the expectation of fine vintages of wine. The Lord had prepared Israel like a fine vineyard, and Israel's leaders like vintners with everything at their disposal to be fruitful and successful.

What the Lord received instead were wild grapes. Grapes with no cultivation, left to grow or die by chance, depending on weather and other conditions, were not very good grapes. If anything good grew at all, it was not thanks to the vintners, and what grew in such an unfavourable situation was not of much worth. The leaders of Israel were expected to cultivate justice and peace in their subjects, and they didn't.

In today's Second Reading St. Paul teaches that the peace of God and the shelter of our hearts and minds in Christ depend on our attitude and the things we value as important. Envy and greed can lead to inaction, but anxiety can have the same effect.

St. Paul counsels us in moments of anxiety to ask God for what we need, but in a spirit of gratitude for what the Lord has already done. That's the best remedy to a warped sense of entitlement when things don't go as we'd like.

Our Lord has promised us that the Heavenly Father knows what we need before we even ask (see Matthew 6:8), so there is no need to worry. If we occupy ourselves with truth, honour, justice, purity, loveliness, graciousness, and excellence, we'll not only experience the peace of God but help to spread it.

In today's Gospel Our Lord invites us to imagine a group of men given the opportunity of a lifetime, both professionally and personally: not only a good place to live but a great way to make a living.

Imagine a business at an excellent location, with an abundant clientele, a great lease, and the job of making a lot of people happy (the vineyard is for producing wine, throughout Scripture, symbolizes joy). If that weren't enough, the men running the business also have a beautiful place to live and a great landlord.

Any outside observer would say that professionally and personally the owner has been very kind to his tenants, even going beyond what a tenant would expect or deserve. All the owner asks in return is a share of the joy that he hoped the tenants would produce.

This is where the mystery of sin enters: mystery in the sense of sin, ultimately, following no logic but its own, a twisted logic that bends everything around it and denies greater truths eventually at its own expense. The tenants start beating up the people coming to collect the owner's fair share and leaving him empty handed. There's no remorse: gradually they start killing them too.

The owner shows a kindness that the tenants, to any outside observer, do not deserve. He keeps giving them opportunities until one day he gives them the greatest and most definitive opportunity: he sends the heir himself, a reminder that he is the owner, and they are the tenants, and an extension of his very self.

In their twisted logic, they convince themselves that by eliminating the heir any trace of ownership will die with the owner, and he'll also stop bothering them (the son was the last one he could send, as the parable narrates).

The chief priests, scribes, and elders pronounce judgment on this "theoretical" case, and their own words condemn what they are doing. Our Lord is the cornerstone. You can't even speak of having a structure, having a building, without a cornerstone–it joins two walls together.

Many "tenants" who've received so much kindness, personally and professionally, from God want to monopolize the joy they could give to God and others, and as a result, impoverish any joy they could give. They deny something fundamental, something structural: that the owner and his heir are what make their life possible, whether they acknowledge it or not, and eventually, second chances (and third, and fourth, etc.) are exhausted, and mercy has to give way to justice.

The parable of the wicked tenants in today's Gospel is a way of teaching the Pharisees that they had fallen into a warped sense of entitlement over something that didn't belong to them: the People of God. So when the Son comes on behalf of the true "owner" of the People of God, they're going to reject him and kill him thinking that somehow everything will then return to normal.

Our Lord today through the parable is prophesying the outcome of their covetousness and envy: everything they thought was theirs will be taken away and given to those who'll be worthy stewards of God's gifts.

My dear brothers and sisters, St. Paul reminded us today about how we can pay our Lord his due: truth, honour, justice, purity, loveliness, graciousness, and excellence. Those things don't just bring peace and joy into our lives, but also in those, we know and love. Let's contemplate today the kindness of God in our lives and ask him to help us to see how we can work with him to bring joy to him, to others, and to ourselves.