Fath and Hope

It's Advent, so we get to read Isaiah, which is always a delight. Today is no exception, with a simple poem about hope, hope in the "branch of Yahweh," hope for the far side of suffering, pain and perserverance.  After all is said and done, what do we hope for?  To live under the canopy over Mt. Zion.Hope comes from faith.  Without faith, how could we hope for such peace?  So we have, from Matthew, the story of the faith of the centurion.  Despite having read this so much that I could probably recite it from memory, upon re-reading this passage today, the sheer fullness of the centurion's faith stuck me like a whack in the head.  When he gives orders, the centurion doesn't doubt for a second that they will be carried out.  When he asks Jesus simply to say the word, he acts without a doubt.  Without a doubt!At one point this morning I am thinking, hope and faith...everything but charity.  Does not charity, living and acting in the love of God, come as the end result of faith and hope?  If our faith is strong and our hope firmly placed, how can we not live in charity?

Benedict

Love the man. During our diaconate formation, we have read several of his theological works, starting with Introduction to Christianity. Last summer, I had the opportunity to study his theology in a course given by Dr. Cyril O'Regan at Notre Dame. I have read the Sewald books and am looking forward to the new one. I found this post on Amy Welborn's blog and thought it well worth the sharing. You can read it here.

November

Thoughts for November from "The Concord Pastor" here.

November Days

As I pray for those who have died, I think of the ways that God was present in them. For each person, I then can recall how each of them showed the love of God present in their lives. How my friend who just unexpectedly passed away gave his life to evangelization, or how my children had a giving love for others, and how my brother loved kids and worked with kids. I recall the deep faith of my parents, whose lives ended as living acts of evangelization. When I pray for the dead, I recall these things and point them out to the Lord saying “here’s what I saw them do for You. Have mercy on them.” Of course, you can’t do this if you don’t love yourself in the same manner. If you fail to recognize the love of God in your own life, in who you are, sins and all, you aren’t about to see it in the lives of others.

All Saints

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(Mt.5:3)
The poor in spirit. Those who have emptied themselves for Christ as Christ as emptied himself for us. When I think of my favorite saints...Paul, Peter, Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi...they have all done this. They emptied themselves for the One who emptied Himself for them. They never gave up. A priest once told me that saints were sinners who never stopped trying. Satan doesn't give a damn if you sin, but he loves it if you despair after sinning. Never give up emptying yourself for Christ. Never stop trying.