Fr. Rick Spicer

It is no secret today that there are deep divisions in our society and in our churches. The readings today remind us that there were deep social and religious divisions in the Judaism of Jesus’ day as well as in the Christian communities founded by Paul. They also remind us that in our own settings, Jesus and Paul still try to be uniters, not dividers.

Speaking of uniters, Sunday marks the 203rd birthday of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th (and in the opinion of most historians) our greatest president.

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6th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

In today’s gospel, twice Jesus amazed the people who were with in the synagogue. First, they “were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” Then, he further amazed his audience by casting out a unclean spirit from a man in the assembly.

It was the practice in those days for the scribes to teach by offering the instruction of others. Instead of asserting their own insights, they would say, “The rabbis have said this about that scriptural passage.” Jesus amazed his listeners by offering his own experience and understanding of scripture. It became apparent to them that his authority rose from his inner conviction about the truth of what he said. His magnetism wasn’t dependent on clever ways of mouthing what others had said or taught. His messages came from his own mind and heart, which were in constant touch with God.

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4th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

At a glance, the message found in these readings is simple enough: repent. Yet, how often do we give serious thought to this advice? I suspect that most parishioners here have not in the past eight years celebrated the sacrament of reconciliation. If you are one of them, do you see the need to repent or not?

Whatever your thoughts on the matter of sin and repentance may be, I suggest that we step out of our usual mindset and rethink what the message truly is. As Jesus said, “repent, and believe in the gospel.” They go hand in hand.

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3rd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Two verbs jump out at me in these readings: bless and reflect. In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we hear an ancient Jewish prayer dating back to the time of Moses, “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you and kindly and give you peace!” I imagine that prayer was on Mary’s lips as she reflected on all that was happening to her: the birth of a son whose father was not Joseph and the visit of shepherds and their message.

I could use the opportunity to reflect on Mary, the blessed Mother of God, but given the circumstances that some of us find ourselves in, I think we need to reflect on how blessed we truly are. Just as Mary reflected on the events she experienced, good and bad alike, we need to take time to ponder the events and the people in our lives. Many of us feel that our life is filled with little things thus may seem so mundane. We heard, “The Lord bless you and keep you!” Yet, we may not realize just how blessed we truly are.

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Mary, Mother of GodRead More »

The opening hymn brings to mind the story of an inquisitive four year old who happened to be strongly rooted in the “why” and “tell me” stage of life. The boy was helping his father set up the Christmas decorations. Imagine the scene with boxes scattered about the living room, now listen to their conversation:

“Daddy, why are there so many lights? What do all these colors mean? Why did you cut branches off the Christmas tree and hang them on the door? Did you help your daddy when you were big like me? Why do we bring a tree in the house? Mommy’s gonna be mad if you make a mess.”

Does that sound familiar? Well, the conversation continues. The little boy was helping his father sort out ornaments for the tree when he asked, “Daddy, what does ignore mean?”

The father explained patiently, “Ignore means not paying attention to people when they call you.” Immediately the little boy looked up at his father and said, “I don’t think we should ignore Jesus.”

Puzzled, the father knelt closer to his animated son and replied, “I don’t think we should ignore Jesus, either, son. I think we should give him our full attention. Why do you say that we ignore him?” His son answered, “But, Daddy, that’s what the Christmas carol says, ‘Oh, come let us ignore him.'”

The real word, as you and I both know, is adore. “Oh, come and let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.” And this is what countless Christians are doing this night/day around the world. We gather to adore Christ, that is, to worship him and rightly so, for as the son of God, he has saved us from our sins and given us the precious gift of eternal life.

Adoring Jesus however isn’t reserved only for Christmas. Ever since the first Easter, as prescribed by the third commandment, Christians have gathered every Sunday to worship and adore Christ. We Catholics call our time together the Mass, which as you can see now has a new translation. While the words have changed somewhat, the meaning and the purpose of the Mass remain the same. This is our time to worship God. Our gifts of bread and wine become for us the body and blood of Jesus.

Another name for Mass is Eucharist, which in Greek means “thanksgiving.” The Mass is our time to adore Jesus as a faith community and our time to thank God for what we have been given. Of course, sometimes we are not always grateful for what we have been given. Despite the thoughtfulness of the giver, have you ever not appreciated or been disappointed by what you have received?

The week before Christmas, a young woman, named Julie, was complaining to her closest friend, “I spend time, energy and money to find my mother-in-law a Christmas present, and no matter what I give her, she won’t like it.” Her friend replied, “You haven’t even bought it yet. How can you be so sure?”

“Easy. She never likes anything I give her. She never likes anything anybody gives her. Every time it’s the same response. She mumbles a weak thank-you if you’re lucky. Then, a day or two later, she’ll ask for the receipt so that she can get something more practical. And if you give her something practical, she’ll find another reason to return them…wrong color, wrong size, wrong something or other. She never gladly accepts a gift!”

When it came to gifts or compliments, Grandma Kellen simply could not and would not accept one graciously. Julie finally brought a beautiful snow dome with a nativity scene, thinking it would be something her mother-in-law would enjoy for years to come. Much to Julie’s delight, her mother-in-law really did appreciate the gift.

Months later, Julie’s 4 year old daughter had a temper tantrum at her birthday party because the gift of a raincoat was not her favorite color so Grandma Kellen took her to another room for a little “time out.” Julie peeked in to see what was going on. There she found the two of them cuddled together in a rocking chair.

“Now, Jenny, you mustn’t cry because people don’t give you what you wanted. I used to do that, always wanting something different, until I got that snow dome from your mother. As I kept turning it over and watching the snow fall on the nativity scene, I realized that if Jesus and Mary and Joseph could accept the gifts of the shepherds and the wise men, even though those gifts may not have seem too practical, well, so could I.”

Grandma Kellen imparts a timely message for us this Christmas. There might be a present or two that you may not appreciate, but when given out of love, there is much to appreciate, even if the gift may not seem so practical or be just what you wanted.

We have before us the most precious gift that we could ever want: the gift of God with us, Emmanuel, Jesus, the Son of God, yet how readily do we appreciate what we have been given? Our attention is focused on him here and now, but will our attention be there next weekend or the weekend after or say on the fifth Sunday of Lent or Easter? Or might we be doing just what that little four year observed? Might we be ignoring Jesus because we have too much else to do or don’t fully appreciate this gift for whatever reason or excuse we come up for not coming again and again to give thanks to our Savior at Mass?

Oh, come let us adore him, Christ the Lord, not just this day, but every week wherever we may be.