Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

 Sirach 3:2-6, 13-14

Colossians 3:12-21

Luke 2:22-40

Merry Christmas! I have to say that I have always found it to be a great shame when some people exercise the option to shorten our second reading today, as well as the shortened other readings involving the Sacrament of Matrimony, such as Ephesians 5:22-33 when that comes up in the Lectionary. Sometimes this is done out of defference to the modern feminist movement, because an important explanation of the sacramental theology of marriage is deemed by some not to be politically correct in this day and age. 

Still others prefer to exclude these important readings because they fear that it may give license to abusive spouses to "lord it over" their wives and simply order them around and you ladies are supposed to do whatever we say. St Paul would have understood that if that was what he meant, it was going to go over like a lead balloon even in the ancient world. Remember that he is writing to a lot of people who are former pagans, and the wives in that cultural milieu likely would not have taken very well to simply being ordered around. What Saint Paul was telling the Colossians and the Ephesians and us today is that Christian matrimony is to be patterned after Christ's relationship with the Church, we are the bride and Christ is the bridegroom. 

What that means in practical application is that our homes are to be a domestic Church, and husbands and wives can be Christ to one another, but in a family context, the husband should be the one to have spiritual leadership in a home, just as Christ has spiritual leadership over the Church.

We see the ultimate clear example of that in the story of the flight into Egypt.. When the time came to follow the spiritual guidance of the Lord and to leave Israel and go to Egypt, there is no way that this could have been an easy decision. Joseph already had to take his espoused wife from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. Now he was being told that Herod and the authorities in Jerusalem were threatening Jesus' life, and Joseph took the lead, following the direction of the Lord as told him by the angel, heeding God's command, and taking the lead over his family when it counted. Similarly, when Herod died, the angel made it known to Joseph, and Joseph followed the Divine directive. St. Joseph exercised spiritual leadership, because he took charge not only of Jesus physical protection, but the spiritual welfare of his family.

Similarly, in the Gospel today we see Mary and Joseph going together as a family to the temple to present Jesus. When this happened, Jesus would have been identified as Joseph's son before the priests and the rabbis of the Temple. We see the declarations of who Jesus is from Simeon the holy man, and Anna the prophetess, but probably the most important passage of the Gospel is what we see near the end when it tells us that the Holy family returned to Nazareth, and that "Jesus became strong and filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him." Even Jesus had the example of holy people around him. What we are left to presume is that Jesus grew up not unlike any other child of his day, we don't hear from his childhood except for the finding in the temple at the age of 12. After that incident, we don't hear from St Joseph in Sacred Scripture at all, but we know that he was the leader in the family when it counted. Early on in Our Lord's life, Joseph is seen making the difficult decisions under God's direction.

Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity, is the Son of God and He is God. He could have come into the world in any way that he chose in order to carry out his mission to redeem humanity, but from the foundation of the world it was chosen that he would come into the world as part of an ordinary household and a family with a mother and a father, in part to show us that this is the normative way in which children should be raised.

For a very long time in our society today, it seems that if children are to have any religious upbringing at all, it is often the lady of the house who does the hard work to ensure that the children know something about God. I've known of a few cases where it's even the grandparents who take that responsibility unto themselves. Sacred Scripture is quite clear, however, that Holy Matrimony is a type, or a living example, of the relationship between Christ and the Church. While spouses are to be Christ to each other in their personal relationship (and I don't know about you, but I can think of plenty of times when my spouse has truly been Christ to me), it is the man of the house who stands in the place of Christ as bridegroom in the Sacrament of Matrimony. Just as Christ is the spiritual leader of the Church, the man of the house is supposed to be the spiritual leader of the home. We know that there are often negative spiritual consequences if things don't happen that way.

A few years back, Touchstone magazine published a study from Switzerland that was undertaken throughout Europe and recorded by the European Union. The study found that if both the father and mother of a family attended church regularly, 33% of their children will be regular churchgoers, and another 41% will be irregular churchgoers but consider themselves practicing. only about a quarter of the children of faith-filled marriages end up not practicing their faith in any way at all. Conversely, if mother practices her faith but father doesn't practice his at all, only about 2% of those children become regular churchgoers. Another 37% of those children will attend church on an irregular basis, and 60% of those children will not practice their faith at all. Interestingly, if Dad is the regular churchgoer and Mom is not, the same study showed that far more children were likely to be loyal to their faith, between 38 and 44% of them depending on the circumstances. Some American studies have shown that practicing Dads yield children that are as much as two-thirds more likely to remain loyal to their faith. Some U.S. studies show the number when Dad is active in church to be as high as 93% of children who remain in the practice of Christianity.

Men matter, fathers matter, and we live in an age when masculinity and fatherhood are both under terrible attack. St. Joseph is given to us as an example and a model of manhood, of leadership, of fatherhood. It is time for men to reclaim the example of St. Joseph and reclaim spiritual leadership of their homes and families. The model of the Holy Family can show us the way.

Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

Colossians 3:12-21

Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

It is always a source of some discouragement to me that our second reading today is often shortened by many so as not to read the section which says "wives be subordinate to your husbands as is proper in the Lord." In that entire section of the reading, St. Paul lays down a very simple model of the Christian home. In addition to his admonition about wives and husbands, he urges children to obey their parents, something he also says in the Letter to the Ephesians, telling children to obey their parents "in the Lord," which is a very important distinction, and fathers not to provoke their "children to wrath." 

To understand what St Paul means here, we really need to look at a passage of Scripture that should be seen as the companion to our second reading today, and that is Ephesians 5:21-33. In this passage, Saint Paul underscores a reality that both the Second Vatican Council and recent Popes have reminded us of, and that is that just as the Church is the Bride of Christ, that the home should be a domestic Church. This is why Paul calls on wives to be subject to their husbands as to the Lord, but he also calls on husbands to love their wives in the same way that Christ loved the Church, in other words they are to love their wives to the point of even being willing to lay down their lives for them, just as Christ did for His own bride. 

The Apostles were keen that men should exercise the spiritual leadership in their homes in the same way that Christ exercises the spiritual leadership over the Church. There are some who misinterpret these passages and take them out of context, as if to say that the apostles would condemn women being in any leadership role in the larger society. They were more concerned about men behaving as Christ would, and taking the spiritual leadership in their own domestic Church.

The Church clearly teaches us that women are equal in dignity and worth to men, and we know that women can be equal (and often surpass us) in talent, abilities, and gifts. But what the Church has never taught is that men should abdicate the role of spiritual leadership in the domestic Church. The whole Church is built upon a Nuptial model, the Church is the bride of Christ, Christ is the bridegroom, and indeed the priest acts in the person of Christ. This is the reason why Sacred Ordination is limited to men, it has nothing to do with the equality, dignity or ability of women. 

When men abdicate the spiritual leadership of the home, this will begin to affect the leadership of the Church as well, since the family is the domestic Church. Studies on Church participation have repeatedly shown over and over again that in families where both the father and the mother attend Church with their children, the children are vastly more likely to continue in the practice of their religious faith. Saint Paul wasn't just an old fashioned male chauvinist fuddy duddy, he saw it with his own eyes in the early Church. When men take the role of spiritual leadership in their families, the families follow them, and that impacts the Church as a whole, and even the larger society.

Increasingly, in those households where the children are fortunate to have both parents present, it is not uncommon for men to abdicate the role of spiritual leadership and spiritual educator to the women of the house. Holy women set holy examples, holy families usually have holy men willing to be the spiritual guide that they need to be.

We see this very example in today's Gospel. When the angel made Joseph aware of the threat to the life of the holy child Jesus, Joseph led his family to Egypt, and when the time came to leave that place, the Gospel tells us that it was he who made the decision to return to Nazareth to avoid any further threats to the Lord Jesus. 

When Saint Paul repeatedly urges men to take the lead and wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, he is calling on Christian men to take that spiritual leadership. Our society needs the spiritual example of Christian men even more in our own day and age. Saying that does not mean that the contribution of holy and zealous mothers, daughters, and women in the Church is less valuable to the Kingdom of God or any less important, but it is saying that men should not abdicate their biblical and apostolic role.

All too often, we have seen mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, be the ones to cry out in prayer for their straying family members, their children and grandchildren. Sometimes, men in families think that the women should take charge of the children's religious training, I've even heard some men say that the women are better at that, but the home that has families that pray together, including and especially Dad, is more likely to have children who observe the faith. When Dad takes God seriously, it is far more likely that the whole family is going to take the things of God seriously as well.

God's Word tells us that, in the end, there is nothing new under the sun, and so this is a problem that the Apostles saw in their own day. St. Paul reminds us that in our brokenness and our sinfulness, our home should still function as a domestic Church, and the Church is still the bride of Christ and is organized itself as a family, with Christ as the head and we as His bride.

It is not an accident that it was the plan of God that the Second Person of the Trinity, His only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, would enter into the world and be born into a human family, and then he would make his Church in the image of a family with himself at the head of it, and ordained men who represent Him at various levels leading the Church on earth.

 We have been fed a steady diet of scandal in the Church now for many years. What the feast of the Holy Family should remind us of is the reality that as the family goes, so goes the Church, and as the Church goes, so goes the nation and the culture. All of the problems we see in the Church and in society don't happen in a vacuum, they happen in a family, or in the lack of one. In our own brokenness let us pray that the Holy Family will be the model for our own, and that as we rebuild our families, we will rebuild our Church, and rebuild our nation and our world.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-14

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-24

Sacred Scripture tells us very little about St. Joseph, it tells us that he was betrothed to the Blessed Mother and calls him her husband, it tells us that he raised Our Lord as if the Lord Jesus were Joseph's own son, and the Scriptures tell us that Joseph was a carpenter, because the people of Nazareth refer to Jesus as the Carpenter's son. Perhaps the most important thing we are told about Saint Joseph, however, occurs in the Gospel today. We are given the Gospel account in Luke of the Annunciation as well as Joseph's reaction to it in today's Gospel from Saint Matthew, and then it is explained to us how the Holy Spirit revealed to Joseph that the baby Mary was carrying would be the Messiah. The Gospel uses a simple description of St Joseph, God's Word refers to him as "a just man."

Another way to translate this would be to say that Joseph was a righteous man. Just as Mary said yes to God with her fiat in the Gospel, St. Joseph also said yes to God when he woke up from that dream and took Mary into his home. After all, we can only assume based upon the biblical text that Joseph initially believed that Mary had been unfaithful to him, but Joseph was unwilling to expose Mary to shame, the Bible tells us. What that meant in reality was that Joseph was unwilling to see Mary stoned to death.

We do not see Joseph as a character throughout the New Testament, but we do see him in some very critical places in the early stages of Our Lord's life on Earth. We know that he was betrothed to the Blessed Mother, and that as the text says here, he recognized God's voice and God's call on his life to be the Foster Father of Christ. We know that he sheltered the Holy Family from harm by taking Jesus and Mary into Egypt when Our Lord's life was in danger, and then returning safely home to Nazareth. It is there that we know that Joseph was a carpenter, and taught that trade to the young man that his neighbors knew to be his son. We know that St. Joseph played a critical role in the early life of Christ, enough that he is remembered with a place of honor on the Church's calendar, and in the Canon of the Mass itself.

Yet we know a little about this man's life beyond those few details, but even knowing that, there is much that Saint Joseph can teach us about humility, and even the Advent season which we see drawing to a close today.

St Joseph truly took the role of spiritual leadership of the Holy Family, he took charge of a delicate situation and he made the very most of it for the sake of the Kingdom of God, when the easy thing for him to do would have been to walk away, and had he done so, we might not have known the wiser. Instead, he did the hard thing, he took on a child that was not his to raise, and a family he didn't have to take on for fear of scandal. He did this because he understood that this was the will of God and he wanted to live by it.

We get a glimpse of Mary's humanity as well, because Scripture does not tell us that Mary didn't question what was going on. She asked the angel the obvious question: "How can this be, considering that I haven't been with a man." Mary was not merely asking this question in order to get the direct answer, although the angel gave it to her. Mary was fully aware that there was a great possibility that her neighbors, her friends, her family, and her Betrothed would all believe that she had committed adultery, and Scripture indicates that that's what Joseph thought at first. We have the benefit of viewing the situation in hindsight, and with the eyes of two thousand years of Christian faith. They didn't have that benefit in those days, most people would have believed the evidence they could obviously see.

But through the messages of the angel of God, Mary and Joseph were made aware of the plan of God, as surely as they were aware of the risks that they would both be taking my carrying it out. As melodically beautiful as the song is, Mary's very response tells us that she knew exactly what she was getting into, she and Joseph were asked to answer God's Eternal call for their lives, and the unique role that they had in the plan of Salvation. Because they willingly put themselves at risk and answered God's call, because Mary and Joseph willingly said yes to God, today we call Mary the Immaculate Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, and we remember Joseph as a hero of the faith and Foster father of the Messiah.

All of us, if we are willing to take up the mantle of Christ, have a role to play in the plan of Salvation. We may not be fully aware of all of the details of what that role is in this life, but if we are willing to say yes to God, all of us have a place in promoting the Salvation of Souls, and the growth of the Church until the end of time. Everyone of us can say yes to God and be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to be a witness to Jesus Christ according to our state in life. 

Just like Mary and Joseph, we are all called to say yes to God and to play our role in the promotion of the Gospel. There is no believer that God does not ask to step out in faith, to trust in Him, and to be used to advance the Kingdom of God. 

At its very heart, this is what Advent is truly all about. Every year, in the first weeks of the liturgical year we are reminded of two great truths of our faith. The first is that Christ will one day return to judge the living and the dead, that he will judge every man and woman according to their works, and one day the secret of all hearts will be revealed. The second great truth is that to save humanity from our own rejection of God, God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world through Him might be saved. God used a Galilean peasant girl and a carpenter from Nazareth, who said yes to lives of uncertainty in order to step out in faith and be part of the plan to save all of us.

Advent reminds us that Christ came once, and he came in order to give humanity a second chance. Mary and Joseph were given the opportunity to say yes to God, and we remember them because that is exactly what they did. We are all given the same opportunity, the opportunity to say yes to God and yes to the plan of Salvation and our role and place in it. Let us answer God in the same way that Mary did. "Be it done unto me according to thy Word." 

Reflection on the Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3:15-16, 21-22:

  The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

 After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”






Recently, I had the special pleasure of writing a piece for the Diocese of Knoxville's 25th Anniversary Jubilee website on the triple meaning of the Feast of the Epiphany. I'll leave you to visit the site and read for yourself to find out more (the link is in the text above), but the short version was that the Feast of the Epiphany had originally celebrated three important manifestations of God and of Christ's divinity. One was the Incarnation and Nativity of Our Lord, one was the Baptism of the Lord, and one was the Wedding Feast at Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle of changing water into wine. Many Eastern Christians believe that the Baptism of the Lord was the real beginning of Christ's passion, because it was the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, and it was from that point that the entire trajectory of Jesus' life began to move slowly toward the Cross. It may be with this reality in mind that the Church both ends the Christmas season on this feast and begins what we call Ordinary Time-the majority of the Church year where we are really celebrating the teachings of Jesus in our worship, just as we reflect on the unique mysteries of his life that we celebrate at Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter time. Note that this year, there are exactly 30 days of Ordinary Time before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.


Jesus' baptism was both an example for us as well as the beginning of his ministry. As Catholic Christians, it is our belief that Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine-completely God and completely man. That's not a mystery that I can begin to explain with due justice, but I will say that I believe that like all of us, Jesus in his human nature received a call from God at some point in his life. Some folks think this was when he was 12 years old and told his parents when they ran back to Jerusalem looking for him and found him in the Temple: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (cf. Luke 2:49) There are also some people who think that the real beginning of his call happened on the day of his baptism when the Father's voice said "this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (cf. Luke 3:22) That wouldn't be too different from the rest of us, because whether we were old enough to understand it or not, our call into the family of God began at our baptism. Since I was baptized as an adult, it wouldn't be unfair to say that if the Lord calls me to ordination, that that call-though known to God and intended by God before the foundation of the world-began when I first said yes to God, and when I asked the Church to baptize me. The call comes from God, but the choice to respond to that call rests with us-God is never going to force himself on us, because that would not be an act of love, and God is Love. We know that Jesus was tempted like us, but unlike us, he never sinned-he always chose the better part.


I have shared with you here in recent days that I have prayed and continue to pray that the Lord would give me a great increase in humility. I feel the call to the deaconate even stronger now than felt when I began formation, even as I understand that for me, this entire journey is one based on trust in God, because just as when I began formation, I know not what tomorrow shall bring. I learned that firsthand today. Nicole and I are experiencing some sudden car trouble. Thankfully, we'll be able to have the car fixed without much difficulty (it is an issue with the power steering), but it looks as though I may miss our deanery formation workshop as a result, since Saturday is the one day that we can take the car in to have the issue fixed that wouldn't wreak havoc on our regular daily schedule. When I first heard this, I was distraught-I have never missed a formation weekend or a workshop. I look forward to them with eagerness, and Nicole also expressed to me how disappointed she was that she wouldn't be able to attend-I miss my brother Aspirants when we are not learning together. As much as I was upset at this, nearly to the point of anger, I then stopped to reflect that I had been praying for an increase in humility, and that God often increases our humility through trials and sudden unforeseen difficulties, and I just felt led to say "thank you Lord." Even when things get rough, I have to learn to be thankful.

Human apprehension and reminders to trust and obey

As I posted on Saturday, I was truly given grace by this past weekend's formation class(es), and I thought that Father Michael Cummins showed us a living example of grace and humility in the spiritual life, an example to which we should all aspire, whether laity or clergy, aspirants, seminarians, or religious.


I did learn that later this week, those of us who are in the deaconate formation program will receive a list of potential assignments for summer service projects. A lot of these will be projects through Catholic Social Services, although we were told there would also be some other opportunities available. I had occasion yesterday to talk to one of my brother aspirants and we agreed that we are very eager to serve whoever, whatever, and however the Church might call us, since service is what the ministry of the deacon is about above all else...but as I shared with my brother in the Lord I am a little nervous for a very practical reason, and that is that whatever summer assignment I have must be something that is readily accessible to me. Since I don't drive, I have to rely on my wife very often to get me where I need to be in order to fulfill lots of responsibilities, and certainly church-related responsibilities that I have been called over the years to take on. Nicole is far from the only person who gives me this kind of assistance. As I have already written previously on this weblog, I could not attend deaconate formation with regularity in order to study with the required frequency of the formation process without the sincerely offered assistance of two of my Brother Aspirants, Steve Helmbrecht and Don Griffith. It is more than fair to say, however, that Nicole's help-usually behind the scenes and often without appearance or fanfare-has made my daily formation a reality. As a result, I do have a concern about how I will carry out my assignment, since Nicole can't do it all in terms of making sure that I can be everywhere I need to be-she also has a schedule and responsibilities of her own.

On the other hand, I must daily remind myself that whatever happens, absolutely none of this is about me, and the moment it becomes about me, it then becomes reasonable to question whether I am receiving a call from the Holy Spirit, or whether the call is of my own desire and volition. Were it to be the latter, I would not continue on my journey, since I believe the call to Holy Orders must come from the Holy Spirit, and that any desire on my own part to be ordained must exist because it is my desire to serve God and do his holy will.


So far, the Lord has provided for me as I have believed in faith that if being in formation and being ordained a deacon are truly God's will for my life, the Lord will continue to open doors as they are needed.

Prayer and spirituality

As I write this, I'm at our January formation weekend, and the focus for this weekend is prayer and spirituality. Our instructor and spiritual guide for the weekend is Father Michael Cummins, who also happens to be our diocesan vocations director. Those of you who are from Johnson City or who may have attended East Tennessee State University might be familiar with Father Michael, because he is also the campus minister at the Catholic Center at ETSU, and he has a big challenge-as he told us "I'm a staff of one."

I have a special place in my heart for campus ministry, because I was baptized as an adult in a campus ministry setting, and I know that Catholic campus ministries can be an island of spiritual serenity in a sea of secular doubt and social disorder on our campuses today. One of the things thus far which impresses me about Father Michael is that he has such a deep and abiding spirit of humility about his ministry. I have gotten to the point where I daily pray for an increase in humility, because it is something that I always struggle with. Thinking you are being more humble is one thing, but when I see the humility and the spirit of peace with which Father Michael teaches and carries out his ministry, I know that I still have some way to go in that department. In observing Father Michael, I see that this is a spirit that I want to further cultivate in my own life and ministry in the days, weeks, and months ahead, and I would ask for prayers from all reading this for a great increase in humility in service.


One of the things we've talked about thus far are the positives and negatives in the Church and society today, and how these various factors impact our prayer and spirituality. I've talked about the negatives quite a lot on this blog in recent weeks, but there are also lots of good things happening in the Church that can aid our prayer and spiritual life. One of these is that the development of new media communication, with all of its inherent social baggage, can also be a tremendous aid in the spread of the Gospel and in aiding the faith of people who are already living lives of faith in Jesus Christ, but they need resources made available to them in order to better apply that faith to their prayer life and to daily work and life in the world. New media makes this kind of ministry much more available to people who need it. In thinking about this, I am reminded that I started this blog to be a ministry, even though it admittedly also acts as a vehicle for me to journal a bit about my own formation and spiritual development. If you are blessed by what you find here, how can this blog better serve you?

A New Year's reflection on communio

On this New Year's Day, I have cause to look back on the year just past and say that it has been an eventful one, but that I have been blessed and fortunate. Today is both a Holy Day of obligation (unless the bishop has prorogued it, in which case I am not aware-it is listed in my Ordo as a Holy Day of Obligation this year) and the first day of the calendar year 2013. Hence, it is a good day to give thanks for the year just past as well a to think on the year to come.


Nicole and I drank in the New Year last night with a couple of glasses of champagne. I not only told her I loved her but also told her, as well as reminded myself, how thankful I am for her. She certainly has a lot to put up with out of me, but she has also been the one person I can go to more than anyone else to talk about my formation experience, talk about what I am feeling, how I see my call from the Holy Spirit and to talk about the things of God or ecclesiastical affairs as they might pertain to our formation or to the ministry I am called to carry out-now as an Aspirant, and (if the Lord is willing) in the future in the deaconate. Nicole has not been able to be at a formation weekend yet because her schedule really won't allow for that (we raise goats, and Nicole has horses...spring and summer is milking season, winter means the horses have no grass, and Nicole has to take hay to them on the weekends), but because I don't drive, when I have had to be at a deanery workshop or a church meeting, Nicole often makes time not only to take me, but to attend and participate herself. Indeed, it seems that the deanery workshops in our deanery, with our small group of three Aspirants and three wives, are known to be well-participated...all of our wives attend and pray with us at each workshop (and God knows we also eat well at these gatherings!). Nicole also prays with me every day-in fact, if I have prayed Vespers before she has an opportunity to join me, she becomes visibly irritated!


Truthfully, I could not move forward in formation or fulfill the Lord's plan for my vocation, whatever that might be, without Nicole's help and support. Bluntly put, it would be impossible for me to actively pursue formation to the permanent deaconate without her very active assistance. Sometimes that assistance may not appear openly to others, but it is always there. No one has helped me in the way that she has.

Secondly, but nearly as important, I never cease to be amazed at the support and encouragement I receive from my brother Aspirants. My classmates are a constant help to me, even though some of them may not realize it-I can feel their prayers. Furthermore, there are a number of them who have gone out of their way to insure that I can participate actively and get the most out of the theological education and spiritual formation that I am blessed to be receiving. If it weren't for Steve Helmbrecht and Don Griffith, who are my fellow classmates in our deanery, I wouldn't be able to make mandatory formation weekends, let alone be able to truly be spiritually and theologically formed. It is no exaggeration to say that doing this would be impossible without them, and that I have come to rely on them (Steve is at my house at 4:00 pm on formation Fridays like clockwork). Both of them were sent by the Lord to make my formation possible-I truly believe this. How I would make formation regularly was a real concern for Deacon Tim Elliott, our diocesan Director of Deacons-it was a concern for me too...but I told him that I believed that if it is truly God's will for me to be in formation for the deaconate, God would provide for me a way, and thus far through Steve and Don and their wonderful wives, he has done so.


I cannot stress enough the level of friendship and camaraderie that one feels with one's classmates in the process of formation. The Church calls this fellowship communio, and I've come to see how important it is when you are receiving the call of the Holy Spirit to devote your life to the Lord's work not only that you have this kind of relationship with your brothers, but that it be maintained. I also understand now-even more than I have before up to this point-what Deacon Bob Smearing meant when he told me that I would be amazed at just how close I became to my brothers in formation.


The kindness and consideration of my brothers does not cease to amaze me, whether it is that extra hand, or offer of help getting to my room after keeping vigil with some of them, or that word of prayer or touch of concern if something doesn't seem quite right. The front row regulars all now know how I take my coffee. Scott Maentz, whose blog is on my sidebar, not only ministers to all of us through his digital notes and audio recordings of our classes (which have saved me on more than one occasion), but  surprised me with a Christmas gift of Logos Verbum Bible Software. Scott has recommended this software to the other men for some time-now I see why. The digital library of more than 20 Bible translations and Catholic Bible commentaries, Greek dictionaries, concordances, maps, Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers, conciliar documents, catechisms (including the Catechism of the Catholic Church), writings of saints, historical resources, encyclicals, and papal documents spanning centuries would cost thousands of dollars in print form. Since literally everything is cross-linked and cross-referenced, a resource like this is invaluable not just for future class research, but has all that is needed for years worth of biblical and ecclesiastical study, teaching, homily writing, and preaching. If Logos stays in business (meaning that I'll continue to be able to download the updates as they come in), I may never have to buy another Bible commentary again, because if some new important item comes out, Logos will probably add it to their basic collection.


I wasn't expecting Scott's incredible gift, so I was truly humbled that one of my brothers would think of me in this way-and yes, so far I recommend the software too, and I think it is a whole lot cheaper than the money you'll spend building a similar print library.


The year 2012 was a trying year, but we were blessed in so many ways-I am praying that the Lord continues to bless me, undeserving servant that I am, in continued discernment. Thank you, people who have been praying for me...I have felt your prayers every day/

The Holy Innocents

Lullay, Thou little tiny Child, 
By, by, lully, lullay. Lullay, 
Thou little tiny Child. 
By, by, lully, lullay.


 O sisters, too, how may we do,
 For to preserve this day; 
This poor Youngling for whom we sing, 
By, by, lully, lullay. 


Herod the King, in his raging, 
Charged he hath this day; 
His men of might, in his own sight, 
All children young, to slay. 


Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
 And ever mourn and say;
 For Thy parting, neither say nor sing, 
By, by, lully, lullay.


Today the Church remembers some of the most innocent blood ever shed, the blood of little babies who were killed by the order of King Herod the Great when he, on hearing of the birth of the Messiah, became fearful and jealous for his own power. Herod's reaction was to have every newborn boy in the vicinity of Bethlehem killed by his own soldiers, because to his reckoning any of those little boys could have been the Christ. Herod sacrificed the blood of innocent children in order that he might save his own political fortunes. In this way, Herod wasn't unlike some of our so-called "leaders" today who think it good political policy to allow for the massacre of the unborn in the name of "choice." Some of these same leaders then wonder why our society has become so prone-and in such a deadly way-to violence, especially violence aimed at children (sometimes coming, God help us, even from other children).


Some historians and archaeologists question the Scriptural account of the massacre of the Innocents, but the Roman historian and politician Macrobius records it in his Saturnalia, saying that Herod had ordered a massacre of Jews two years old and younger, and that Herod had also, as part of this order, ordered that one of his sons also be killed (apparently because he was a threat to Herod). Upon hearing this, Macrobius records that Octavian Augustus said that "it is better to be Herod's pig than his son."


It is especially apt today to pray for children who have died or who are suffering as victims of abortion, war, famine, abuse, or needless disease. Today is especially a memorial and a remembrance for them.

Matthew 2:13-18:


When the magi had departed, behold,
   the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
   “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
   and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
   and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
   that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
   Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
   he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
   two years old and under,
   in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

   A voice was heard in Ramah,
      sobbing and loud lamentation;
   Rachel weeping for her children,
      and she would not be consoled,
      since they were no more.





 This version of The Coventry Carol is sung by the choir of the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, commonly called Westminster Cathedral, which is the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster in England.

The Feast of Stephen

It is no accident that the feast of the very first martyr for the faith falls on the day after we begin to celebrate the Lord's birth. For deacons-and for those of us who are Aspirants to the deaconate-it is a most significant feast because it celebrates the martyrdom of one of the first deacons-Stephen-who was stoned to death for preaching in Jesus' name.

Stephen was not afraid to meet death for the sake of the Holy Name, and the freedom to preach in Jesus' name. We live in a country where we have enjoyed that freedom for many decades and, by and large, been able to take it for granted. In other parts of the world, especially in places like the Khartoum region of Sudan, or in parts of Nigeria, or in Indonesia, or North Korea, churches are burned, Christians  are hunted down, many are forced underground, a great many are killed for the sake of Jesus' name. We read the account of Stephen's stoning-it is the first reading at Mass today, and the lengthier reading of the account can be found in the Office of Readings for today-and we laud the great martyrdom and heroism of Stephen and we might speak of his willingness to give everything for Christ, even his very life. The reality, though, is that we are called to the same spirit of sacrifice for the sake of Christ-even unto our life. We may never have to give our life, as Stephen did, but it is a legitimate question: Are we willing to, because Jesus himself said we might have to (cf. Matthew 24:9-10). On most days of the year, the Church commemorates a saint who died that day, and very often is this notation next to that person's name "____, martyr." The word martyr means "witness."

Stephen was a great witness for the faith in its earliest days. His witness causes me to ponder...am I a great witness, how can I be a better witness?

_________________________________________________

Nicole got me the most awesome Christmas present. It was the New Testament of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. The notes and commentaries in it are extensive and excellent-they are written by Dr. Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. I find myself reading some passage of scripture and then getting some insight from the notes that then causes me to cross reference some other passage where I will then find more information. My only problem with it seems to be that I spend so much time buried in it that I have to remind myself to finish the assigned reading for formation this coming month!

Nativity of the Lord

When I celebrate Vespers in about two and a half hours from now, it will be the First Vespers of Christmas. Some parishes in our diocese and around the country will have their first Christmas Masses about a half an hour from the time I am writing this-some parishes around the Eastern part of the country have already had that first Christmas Mass. Most of us will go to Mass tonight for the traditional Mass at night on Christmas-I'm still getting used to this whole idea of having Midnight Mass at 10pm, even though it has become the new standard in many places for some years now. Yes, I know it is designed to insure that we can get to bed at a decent hour, and that nowadays even the Pope celebrates the Christmas Liturgy at 10pm-but I'm a traditionalist at heart. I think we've lost something-however small and insignificant-by moving the Liturgy heretofore known as the Midnight Mass to a time when no part of it is likely to be occurring at or near the Midnight hour. However, many years from now we are all likely to be used to the new custom and might find a Mass at Midnight very strange indeed.


I hope and pray that wherever you are, you've had a Blessed and a prayerful Advent, one to prepare you in a joyful spirit for celebrating the Lord's coming. It is a busy time, yes. It can be a time when it is very hard to reflect on the reason for celebration and festivity.


Remember that Mary and Joseph couldn't find a room at the inn for the Christ Child, and as the Holy Father has pointed out this evening in his Christmas homily, in a very real way we fail to make room for Christ when we find time for all of the other concerns and cares of this world, but fail to make time for God. God loved us so much that he sent his only-begotten Son into the world to live as one of us, and to be tempted, suffer, and to die. Yet, on the very day we commemorate this reality, many are so concerned with merriment, food, drink, gift getting and gift giving that they won't even darken the door of a church today. Still others may "go through the motions" of Christian worship on this Feast of the Nativity, but forget entirely those who have nothing to eat, let alone gifts or goodies. In this way, we also fail to leave room for Christ in the inn of our hearts.


This is not to say that our celebration, merry-making, gift exchanges, and joyful intake of food and spirits shouldn't happen-I'll enjoy those same things today, and I would encourage all of you to do the same. If the birth of the Messiah isn't a reason to get happy, I don't know what is! But we should have a joy that is worth sharing with others, especially those who have many reasons in their life not to be joyful. First and foremost, Christ has come for them, to proclaim liberty to captives of all kinds, and proclaim the "year of the Lord's favor."


Finally-and this one is for you Catholics (as well as those from other liturgical traditions)-we need to be careful that we do not let our Christmas celebrations end after tonight and tomorrow. When we engage in this kind of behavior, we have not only allowed for the Protestantization of our Christmas observance, we have done far worse, we're giving in to the secular spirit of this age. Christmas does not end at Midnight on December 25th/26th. The Christmas season really ends on January 13th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Christmas is also celebrated as an Octave-an eight-day feast, from December 25th until January 1 (the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God). Why we've gotten it into our heads that we need to do everything that has to do with Christmas in a day and a half I have no clue, but this may be one reason why some folks aren't ever able to fully enjoy Christmas, they feel like they've got to hurry and rush around to see everyone, do everything, and give all gifts and participate in all appropriate celebrating by the end of the day December 25th-that's not Christmas as it is supposed to be celebrated! If you want to do Christmas right, try spreading your celebrations out to take in as much of the season of Christmas as you possibly can-you'll really feel like you've had a Merry Christmas!


Now as you celebrate tonight-and I hope all week-read afresh the reason for that festivity.

____________________________________________________________

Luke 2:1-19:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'i-us was governor of Syria.  And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 

 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.  And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 

And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

Long Ago Prophets Knew...

One of my favorite Advent hymns is actually a more modern composition, written by Fred P. Green in 1971, listed in many hymnals as Long Ago Prophets Knew.


Long ago, prophets knew Christ would come, born a Jew, Come to make all things new, Bear His people’s burden, Freely love and pardon.

Ring, bells, ring, ring, ring! Sing, choirs, sing, sing, sing! When He comes, when He comes, Who will make Him welcome?

God in time, God in man, This is God’s timeless plan: He will come, as a man, Born Himself of woman, God divinely human.

Mary, hail! Though afraid, She believed, she obeyed. In her womb, God is laid Til the time expected, Nurtured and protected.

Journey ends! Where afar Bethlehem shines, like a star, stable door stands ajar. unborn Son of Mary, Savior, do not tarry!




This particular version is by the Choir of Lichfield Cathedral (the Cathedral of St. Chad and St. Mary, as it was known before Henry VIII) in England, and was part of the British hymns program Songs of Praise. Considering the religious climate in Britain, it is amazing the show is still on air, but it has been going for 50 years and more. In our bustle to prepare for Christmas and to get those last-minute gifts bought and even work out our schedules for Monday and Tuesday (who shall be visited when, when shall we eat, and what, and where) we have forgotten that we don't do these things because we have just declared that we need to mill about at our families' houses all day Monday and Tuesday...whether people realize it or not (and yes, many do not) is because this is a set-aside or sacred time of year. Our culture is moving away from that recognition, preferring "Happy Holidays" to "Merry Christmas," and as we have heretofore discussed, totally ignoring the Advent season.


Remember why we anticipate and celebrate this season of the year, this is not merely an excuse for family gatherings, an extra day or two off, or a schedule adjustment. When we realize those things without having to be reminded periodically of them, you have figured out what Advent is about...you've truly observed Advent, and you are ready for the coming of the Lord.

The choices people make

The question comes all the time from honest people, but especially after a terrible tragedy like the school mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut yesterday, is this: "How can a just and a loving God allow for such a terrible thing to happen?" If you are a family member of one of the slain children or adults, you might ask: "How could God let this happen to my baby?"


It would be disingenuous to say that there is an easy answer to these questions, because their isn't, but Scripture does give us an incredible piece of insight into God's way of dealing with human nature in giving us the free will choice between right and wrong (Deuteronomy 30:15-20):

"See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess."

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." 

This passage is a warning by the Lord (which the Deuteronomist tells us was given though Moses) to the children of Israel to obey his commandments or face the harsh consequences of their own disobedience. God was warning the Israelites not that he was going to "kill them off" if they went their own way, but that they would bring about their own destruction in view of their own bad choices. What this important Old Testament passage is telling us today is something similar but far more simple-God has given humanity the free will to choose right and wrong, good and evil. God has shown us what good is, having done so sending his Son, the Word Incarnate into the world. Jesus Christ came into the world to redeem humanity, but he didn't come to force anyone to follow him or force people to do good or right. That choice is ours alone, and the choice we make has consequences.


Knowing this helps us understand that people have the power to make choices, even the most terrible choices. We believe that people will be held to account for their choice to rebel against the laws of God and his command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We believe that God loves the humanity that he created so much that he sent his Son into the world-the second person of the Trinity and the Incarnate Word-to redeem us from our own sins, our decision to make choices that lead to what the Scripture passage above calls "death and evil," to give us the ability through the redemption of the Cross to reclaim for ourselves the side of "life and good." It is this desire on the part of God from the very beginning to be reconciled with mankind which he made in his image and likeness that is what Advent and Christmas (and, for that matter, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter) are really all about.

In Newtown, Connecticut yesterday, for reasons we do not know and have no power or authority to judge, a young man chose death and evil over life and good. As public figures on all sides begin a disgraceful attempt to politicize the massacre, virtually no one is blaming the root cause that brings about all such violence in our age: A Culture of Death in Western society which not only says that the unborn and the aged and the infirm and the helpless have only the value that we as individuals assign to them, but one which glorifies violence, demeans and objectifies the human person, and perverts liberty itself. Our present culture is saturated with the glorification of sin and the public promotion and encouragement-and even promotion by the state-of the worst forms of social and human depravity, and we wonder how someone could get it into their mind to do such a thing.


When society chooses "death and evil," it is telling individuals that death and evil and all of the sins that go with them are also an acceptable personal choice. We will not see peace in our culture until we begin to choose life and good anew.


Pray for the families and the people of Newtown, Connecticut.


Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let 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.

My own prayer of Advent abandonment

Today is the last day of Ordinary Time, and Advent (and a new Year of Grace, the Church Year 2013) begins tonight at Vespers. This has been a busy year of change and reflection for both Nicole and myself. My studies in the permanent deaconate program for the Diocese of Knoxville are moving along, and I continue to pray and discern-and I continue to believe that the Holy Spirit is calling me to continued discernment. As time passes, I believe that the Lord is calling me to the deaconate. What I have yet to discern or discover is just what my ministry will be if-by God's grace and favor-the Church does call my name on ordination day. I'm sure I'll minister at the altar, and I am sure that the pastor I serve under-whether my current one or another-might even turn me loose to preach from time to time. I hope that if that does happen, my preaching might bring both blessing and conviction to those who need those things-that I would be able in preaching to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."


But the deaconate is not about-to quote our diocese's Assistant Director of Deacons "about being up at the altar and dressing up like the Infant of Prague." Sure, the ministry of the altar and the ministry of preaching and teaching that is a part of that is an extremely important part of being a deacon, but that isn't a deacon's exclusive function. Deacons were established initially both to proclaim the word as a prophetic function, but more importantly to care for widows, orphans, the very poor among the community (cf. Acts 6:1-8). I'm not sure what my ministry may be in the future if I am ordained, but my spiritual director has also told me not to worry so much about that-he said that there have been times in his priesthood when he didn't know what his ministry would be-it should be left ultimately to the Holy Spirit.




That is how I have come to see my ministry. In whatever way and in whatever capacity God calls me to service, even if it seems small and insignificant, then if one soul is impacted with the Gospel as a result-and not even directly by me-then all of the obstacles and hardships and trials and questions of the discernment and formation process will have been worth it.


Every day I pray that God will give me the grace I need to abandon myself completely into His hands, and to die more fully to self. When I think I am making progress in that department, I will say or do something that reminds me that I still have a long way to go...that I'm not yet where God wants me to be, but I'm willing to be, and that if I let him take hold of me more completely, he'll get me there.


This Advent, I make anew a prayer of total abandonment to God-that as Christ abandoned his very Glory to become one of us, I might abandon my own desires in order that God's purposes might be achieved, and his Name and His Church be glorified afresh in me.

The Holy Trinity

Firstly, I want to apologize to those of you who have become regular readers of this weblog (that number is still admittedly small but growing) that I have not posted since the New Year. I have had an extremely busy week, and it had been my intent to post something this past Friday before leaving for deaconate formation, and it didn't quite work out as I had wanted-I just ran out of time. That's something that seems to be epidemic lately, and no, that isn't a complaint, it is just the way things are.

Our formation weekend was packed with material, and my mind is still somewhat on sensory overload from all that we learned. What's more, we have a seven page paper, give a few here and there, that will be due in about a month and a half in which we have to choose a topic where we can prove a theological idea from the writings of the Church Fathers as well as from the ideas of a more modern biblical scholar...oh, and next month, we will have our first exam. It has been a long time since I have had to take an exam, so I am a bit nervous about it. Nevertheless, the material we talked about this weekend was so important that I see the need to be tested on it. Robert Feduccia, currently of Oregon Catholic Press (Spirit and Song) and formerly the youth coordinator and vocation director at St. Meinrad Archabbey (to which I am pledged as an Oblate of St. Benedict) was our instructor for the weekend. The topic was the Holy Trinity-something that I learned more about this past weekend than I ever knew before, and in the name of brevity and because I am exhausted, I can't really give a typical overview in one post as I have done in the past, so I'll have to break some of the finer points into multiple posts.

We discussed the arguments of the atheists and secularists, which are quite pervasive, and as Robert pointed out, even though so many of our people in this country claim to believe in God, so few by comparison act on that belief. At least we are better off than Europe, which has surrendered itself completely over to an unabashed secularism and unbelief. However, if we do not change the tone of the culture and take our place at the forefront of the debate over the increasing secularization of our country, we will soon be headed in the same direction, as the statistics bear out that the millennial generation is inherently unchurched and seems inclined to be so.

The Blessed Trinity has been the matter of dispute within Christendom precisely because it is difficult to explain to anyone the idea that we only worship one God, but that God consists of Three Divine and Distinct Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Further, Christ was begotten, not made, and was born of the Father before all ages (there was never a time when He was not). Christ is of one substance with the Father (consubstantial) and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son-the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. These Persons are not types of God and they are not mere modes of the one God, but are Persons distinct and divine, but exist as one God, as hypostasis-real and distinct Divine Persons in an undivided Unity of God. If that sounds confusing to you, it was to Arius, which is why he came up with the idea that Christ was an intermediary to God, had no human soul, and was not equal to the Father (and therefore not Divine). Arius' ideas weren't far-fetched, which is why they were widely accepted-they were an easy way to explain a complex theological question. The difficulty is that Arius and his followers ultimately denied that Jesus Christ is God, and it was that dangerous notion-that Jesus Christ is not fully Divine and of one substance with God the Father-that led to the Church's ultimate adoption of the Nicene Creed as the profession of faith of Christians.

Is the Trinity hard to understand in our human terms? Sure it is. We literally profess to believe in one God (Deutoronomy 6:4-9), but we say that the one God consists of three separate and distinct Divine Persons who are still of one substance and who act as One in a Unity of Love which existed before all ages. Christ, as the Divine Word, is the second Divine Person of this Godhead (John 1:1-4). It isn't easy to put one's arms around this idea, so it is easier to say, as Arius did, that Christ could not possibly be Divine.

Who said the Faith of the Church was meant to be easy?

The New Year

As we prepare to leave one calendar year behind and enter another, the Church always celebrates the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. It is also usually a time to reflect on the year that has passed and the new one that is about to begin. For me, a lot of things have happened in 2011, but the deaconate formation process has not only defined my year and changed, I would say, the very spiritual complexion of our home, it has changed forever the way that I view the Church's role in my daily life. The interesting thing about that statement is that when I began the formation process, I really had no idea of the transformative impact that it would have on not only my life, but our home, and the way that I have noticed that I am perceived by others-that is something that Deacon Jim Prosak, my mentor, told me that I would see happen more and more as the time passed.

I am finding also that I have an increased desire to pray more of the Divine Office whenever my schedule permits it. I regret that I cannot honestly say that I am praying at least five of the seven hours-the five which are required of priests-every day, but I now try to pray five of the prayers of the office every day. The "Big Five" are the Office of Readings (Matins), Morning Prayer (Lauds), Daytime Prayer Current (Sext), Evening Prayer (Vespers), and Night Prayer (Compline). The other two hours are Terce, called Midmorning Prayer in our modern tongue, and None, or Midafternoon Prayer.

The names of the three Daytime Hours tell us precisely when they are supposed to be prayed, Terce, or the third hour of the morning watch-9:00AM. Sext, the sixth hour-Noon. None, the ninth hour, also the hour Our Lord expired on the Cross-3:00pm. Our lives don't fit nearly as neatly into those little boxes in modern times-even some monastic communities do not pray the Hours on the strict timing that had become the Church's custom over the years (some, like the Cistercians, still do keep the Hours largely at the traditional times). As a result, the Church wants us now to pray Morning Prayer in the morning, Daytime Prayer during the breaks in our day, Evening Prayer in the evening, and Night Prayer at night before bed. The Office of Readings can be prayed at any time during the day that we can find the time, and the Office of Readings may begin the liturgical day and come before Morning Prayer if someone is so inclined. I often either like to combine the Office of Readings with Morning Prayer or with the Daytime Hour, depending on my schedule on a particular day.  If I am up after midnight, I will sometimes pray the Office of Readings by itself.

If, by the Lord's grace, I make it to ordination, I, along with my Brother Aspirants will  pledge to pray Morning and Evening Prayer every day. My position as a Benedictine Oblate already requires of me to pray Night Prayer. Yet, I have felt called recently to pray the Office of Readings and Daytime Prayer in addition to the Hours I had been praying. I find myself offering up each psalm or canticle or reading for some intention I might otherwise have forgotten in my human weakness. For a Brother Aspirant or wife who needs my prayers, for a friend who is ill, for those I know who need help that I cannot give beyond my prayers, for my vocation and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in discernment, and the same for my fellow Aspirants, for my mentor, and spiritual director...name that need. The more time that I have found to pray, the more prayer intentions and needs I seem to be able to remember.

If I could stress anything to people throughout the Diocese, it is that they can and should be proud of the exceptional class of men who are in formation for the deaconate. I pray each day for these, my brothers, and I often think myself to be the least worthy of all to be among their number. This is the vigil of the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, and I have resolved to commit my own vocation and the entire formation class to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and perfect Christian, you treasured the word of God, in faith you pondered it in your heart and acted on it in charity and service.

We know that as children of God and believing Christians, God's love is given to us, "...the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."  Your heart as symbol of your love for God, for us, and for all creation, reminds us that "as long as we love one another God will Live in us And His Love will be complete in us." 

As we all move into the New Year, I would simply ask that readers remember not only me, but all of the Aspirants for the Deaconate in the Diocese of Knoxville and in the Hily Catholic Church throughout the world in your prayers.