Blog & Pastor Letters

From https://www.hprweb.com/2020/12/homilies-for-january-2021/

St. Augustine is quoted as saying, “The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.” As I pondered today’s readings, looking for a theme, I could not shake the notion of prophecy as the theme. These readings sparkle with the connections between prophecy and the fulfillment of the coming of Christ the Messiah. As we look at some of these connections we have to consider, how could anyone not see the fulfillment of Christ in the Gospels.

Let’s begin with the dialogue between Moses and the Lord regarding the message Moses is to give to the Israelites.

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From https://www.hprweb.com/2020/12/homilies-for-january-2021/

In last week’s readings the theme was a calling to discipleship. Young Samuel is called by God, and Samuel responds by saying, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist announces Jesus as the Lamb of God, and two of his disciples turn and follow Jesus. In the former, God calls Samuel directly; in the latter the calling is a calling of the heart. Samuel was already serving God by being an acolyte of the priest Eli. The two disciples of John the Baptist were already in a preliminary discipleship. These, you could say, were a calling of the righteous. Yet in the Second Reading last week, St. Paul is calling us to turn away from a material life, a life dominated by the body, an immoral life to a life of the Holy Spirit through whom our bodies have become a temple. There is a noticeable distinction between a calling of the righteous and a calling of sinners. St. Paul’s preaching of repentance, however, connects us to today’s readings, of which the primary theme is repentance, a calling of sinners.

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From https://www.hprweb.com/2020/12/homilies-for-january-2021/

“Behold, the Lamb of God.” This is a comforting phrase. It may be the most comforting verse in Scripture, although that is saying a lot. Why is it comforting? Because it speaks to our heart. St. Thomas Aquinas, in many ways, tells us that human nature has an intrinsic desire for God. He derives this from his theology of the soul. Of the noble faculties of the soul is the intellect, and the will. The intellect is constantly seeking what is true and the will is constantly seeking what is good. Together they (we) respond to those things that match this desire in both ways. When something is true, it isn’t necessarily good, but when something is good I can’t imagine it not being true.

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Pope Francis appoints new Cardinals from around the Catholic world. Appointing a Cardinal in the Catholic Church is a recognition by the Holy Father, which in another way, is a call by God to a higher responsibility. The position is next in rank to that of the pontiff and one can be appointed a pope in the future as well.

As I read the news on Vatican websites, I notice that the appointments are always spread mainly from Catholic populations across the world especially among minorities. For example, Myanmar (also known as Burma) has never had a Cardinal until 2015. Thus, the appointment of Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, the Archbishop of Yangon was meant to enhance the faith of over 700,000 Catholics amid 50 million Burmese of other faiths. While some criticize the appointment of Archbishop Bo because of his age, the Vatican feels that the wisdom of this old man will unite all other faiths in Myanmar and shine the light of Jesus in the region.

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