3 March 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Sirach 27, 4-7 + Psalm 92 + 1 Corinthians 15, 54-58 + Luke 6, 39-45

Baseball was once called, “The National Pastime.” It seems to me that this description assumes that there is leisure time to be passed. In the busy world of these days, there isn’t much time to pass, so baseball has become a big business in itself, and a way to advertise and sell lots of things we really don’t need. In place of baseball, there is a new pastime that has caught on everywhere. I call it, “The Blame Game.” From the great halls of political power to our classrooms and homes, we are perfecting the art of blame. Everything is someone else’s fault. Unless, of course, if it is something good, then we did it.

As Jesus continues the formation program for his disciples this weekend, it becomes clear to any of us that what he has proposed the last two weeks when speaking about the “Blessed” ones is that children of God are a people who have integrated lives in which the heart and the mouth are in synch. In other words, what is said by disciples comes from a heart that is in “synch” or “in tune” with God’s heart, and what they do matches what they say. It’s all integrated: the heart, the mouth, the deeds. Achieving that comes from realizing that the Gospel is given to us as a guide for our own lives not as a judgement tool to use on others.

There is a terrible, violent scene in a movie called: “Boy Erased” during which a group of “Gospel inspired” reformers are punishing a young man who is gay and by their judgement is a sinner. They beat him with Bibles. Later in the film, he takes his own life. The viewer is left to wonder who has the greater sin. There is a kind of pseudo religion going around that tries to make other people better, but real religion just makes one’s self better, that’s all there is to it. And that is the kind of religion in which you find Jesus Christ and his disciples.

Those of us who wish to be disciples of Jesus are not called to be critics. We must embrace the goodness with which we are blessed and gaze upon the world to behold what is good in humanity. Those who look upon the world with the eye of a critic find only the image of themselves. It’s as though they are always looking in a mirror. Perhaps that is the way it works in a narcissistic world, but we are citizens of something not of this world. Once our hearts are open to others, we discover good in them, even when it is hidden. I know it is true in my own life. The greatest people who touched me most deeply paid no attention to my faults and weaknesses; but encouraged, acknowledged, and enabled my best gifts. That is exactly what Jesus did with that rag-tag group of fishermen, tax collectors, and sinners. It is also, exactly what he is still doing with us. How could we possibly not learn the lesson that from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks?

24 February 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Samuel 26, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 + Psalm 103

1 Corinthians 15, 45-49 + Luke 6, 27-38

For most of my 51 years as a priest, I have been involved in the lives of young people through Youth Ministry and through the Catholic Schools at parishes where I served. One thing I learned early on, and nothing ever contradicted it was that children resemble their parents. In my own family, I watch the children of my sister and brother-in-law, and it’s amazing how they reproduce again and again not just the things their parents have said, but how they act. My sister and I often would begin to laugh when one of us sounded like or reacted like our parents. Every now and then, my sister would say something just like Mom, and I would say: “Watch out! She’s back.”

That reality goes even beyond family systems and genes. The truth of the matter is that when we call ourselves “Children of God” we are expressing not just a fact of faith, but an expectation about our mind, our hearts, and our behavior. Today’s verses from Luke’s Gospel follow the Sermon of last week with a further description of the “Blessed” as Jesus continues to lay out the life-style of those who want to call themselves “Children of God” or “Christian.” What Jesus puts before us is an ethic that leads us quite beyond what is normal, civil, or reasonable. In fact, if we are going to understand this and shape our lives around, we have to accept the fact that there is nothing “normal”, “civil” or “reasonable” about this. Catholic Christianity is not primarily a moral teaching. It is the way to salvation. It is a way of sharing the power and freedom of God giving us resources to move deeply into the life of God himself.  In other words, when we begin to understand and act like God, we are going to begin to become extravagant, almost unreasonable, and by some judgement, mad, because God’s ways make no sense in this world.

It does not make any sense to do good to those who harm you. They will just harm you again. It makes no sense to turn the cheek and accept another slap once you’ve been hit. What sense is there in giving your cloak and your underwear. Now you’ll be cold. What we discover is what runs in our family: extravagant generosity. It shows itself in a simple formula Luke develops in these verses: Love, Do good to, Bless, and Pray for. We are going nowhere in terms of faith, spiritual life, discipleship, or salvation until we get serious about this. Luke is running a school of discipleship that is intent on changing the way we think as well as the way we act.

We can live without retaliation. We can be extravagant with everything we have including forgiveness. We can surrender our rights, and we can stop judging others all because God can. This is the source of our spiritual power and the model after which we shape our lives. For real disciples of Christ, these are not just performances done out of obligation. They will be a visible concrete manifestation of a deep inner reality: the transformation that has taken place in our lives as we die to self and rise in Christ. God’s plan and God’s ways will be our plan and our only way.

17 February 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Jeremiah 17, 5-8 + Psalm 1 + 1 Corinthians 15, 12, 16-20 + Luke 6, 17, 20-26

In Luke’s Gospel, and in this church and every other church where it is proclaimed today, the challenge of faith is unfolded, and there is no hiding from it or playing word games to water it down. These holy scriptures, the very Word of God, are given to us as the plan and program of a life lived in faith. We do not inherit these scriptures to provide or empower us to condemn someone else. We are the only ones who can convict ourselves of living the truth in faith. What God says to us simply and directly today is that we may not do what we want with what we have, because everything we own we hold in trust. Anyone who does not believe that can try to take it all with them when they die. We are stewards in this part of our lives, and we have to get that right in spite of every advertisement and temptation that passes in front of us.

The second part of these verses today are really more important than the first part, because these “Woes” rightly understood make it possible to be “Blessed.” We have to stop thinking that “Blessed” is something you get, because it isn’t. Blessedness is not some Thing, it is some One. To be Blessed is to be like God. So, when we are “Blessed” we have the mind of God or the heart of Christ. That is Blessedness – being like God. In which case, we can say: “Blessed are you who are rich in money, in power, in talent, or time, because you can do so much for the poor and lift them out of oppression. It means using power for peace, wisdom to reconcile, knowledge to open horizons, and compassion to heal, and hope to destroy despair.

Blessed are you full now, who are sleek and well-fed, because you are strong enough to feed the hungry, touch empty stomachs with compassion. But, only if you have the mind of the hungry not taking food for granted, and always uncomfortable when your brother or sister cries in vain for bread, or justice, or love. Only when we experience our own emptiness can be know the hungry.

Blessed are you who laugh now, because you can bring the joy of Christ to others, to those whose days and nights are filled with tears. But only if you laugh at yourself and do not take yourself seriously knowing that the whole world does not revolve around you, your needs, and your fantasies. Only if you take delight in God’s creation, in the sun and shade, the flowers and the birds, the clouds and the sea can you have real and lasting joy to share. It means letting go of yesterday, dead hopes and disappointments that keep you from discovering what tomorrow will bring.

In the end, what all means is the Blessed are the free; free enough to be alive, to be in love, to experience the gift of mercy, and the richness of our faith. And Jesus raised his eyes not to heaven, but to us, his disciples, and he said: “Blessed are you”.

10 February 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Isaiah 6, 1-2, 3-8 + Psalm 138 + 1 Corinthians 15, 1-11 + Luke 5, 1-11

All three of the people put before us today are reluctant: Isaiah, Paul, and Peter. Yet, they are all chosen by God. Each of them acknowledges their unworthiness and inadequacy, and from a spiritual point of view, this is a good starting point. God knew of their sinfulness, and God chose them in spite of it. Jesus knew Peter was no good as a fisherman. They caught nothing all night long, but Jesus chose him anyway showing him what he could accomplish when he did what Jesus asked of him. Isaiah, Paul and Peter eventually went on to do great things because they accepted God’s call, and did what Jesus asked. None of them excused themselves or used their sinfulness and weakness as a cop-out.

In this world today, most people who run for public office put themselves forward. They are not slow to advertise their qualifications, and it’s my opinion that such people are more likely to do more harm than good, because they rely upon their own resources usually out for their own glory and advancement. Pride and self-sufficiency are like sand, and a house built on them is sure to fall. On the other hand, when we meet someone who is fearful and hesitant in allowing their name to be put forward, we often find that person believable and more human. This reluctance is the essence of the matter. This is kind of people that God looks for.

We can all sit here today and listen to the story of these three and go home thinking it was all about them as though this is not about us, but we do not proclaim this Word of God to tell stories about the past. To do so is foolishness and faithless. We tell it to reveal the plan of God for today. Anyone called to faith, anyone who believes in the Lord, Jesus Christ is called to do something, called to live and serve in such a way that others are drawn to Christ, invited into faith, and inspired to seek the Kingdom of God in service and sacrifice. Excuses won’t do. Jesus will have nothing to do with Peter’s claims that because he is a sinner he can’t do what is asked of him. God ignores Isaiah’s claims that he is a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips. As St. Paul says, it is precisely because he is a sinner that he is called. There is no excuse for doing nothing.

There is a great contrast between the call of Isaiah and Peter. With Isaiah’s call, there is a sense that something extraordinary is taking place. The Lord is seated on a high and lofty throne with the train of his garment filling the Temple. There is great shaking and house was filled with smoke, but in the time of Peter, our time, it is very different. The Incarnation has taken place, and now God is not on a lofty throne with flowing robes, but rather speaking through the Son of Man to people at work, doing what they do every day, people like you and me.

We must not miss the fact that Jesus began his mission and chose as his followers these fishermen, working people. He did not call priests from the Temple, or the rich and famous. He did not build this church on people who were somehow especially gifted, powerful, or special in any way. He chose real people, simple workers who were not even especially great at what they were doing. After all, they had fished all night and caught nothing. He still chooses sinners. He chooses you and me. There is no time to look around and see if he is looking for someone else. He is not. We all need someone who accepts us for what we are, but believes we can do more and challenges us to realize it. This is exactly what Jesus Christ does for us: accepts just as we are right now, and he asks more. In the end, the quality of our lives is not measured by what is given to us as much as it is measured by what is asked of us.

Jeremiah 1, 4-5, 17-19 + Psalm 71 + 1 Corinthians 12, 31-13,13 + Luke 4, 21-30

3 February 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

This episode in Luke’s Gospel is tragic and sad leaving us to ponder what went wrong, and how we keep that from happening to us. Think of it, and think what it means for those people in that synagogue and town. “Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.” Luke is not proposing some disappearing act, he leaving us with the impression that God abandoned those people. They were left without Jesus. Now, I don’t know how that strikes you, but for me life without Jesus would be a terrible and sad way of life.

What led the people in that synagogue into conflict was the message of Jesus that suggested to them that they were a failure when it came to caring for one another, especially for the needy. Then came the challenging suggestion that God’s first concern was not them, but rather those they had left behind. This “son of Joseph” was suggesting that they, the Israelites, were not the real chosen people, but rather it was the poor made poor and left in poverty by the Israelites who thought that they were so special. That made them angry. Instead of being open to the message and accepting that challenge as a reason for repentance and change, they rose up, and Jesus left them.

At the heart of this conflict is the truth Jesus is revealing: God never called the chosen people for their own sake. God called them to be a sign to all the nations of what it means to live God’s plan for the world. Suddenly those people in that synagogue were face to face with the question of “Why?” Why were they chosen? Why did God protect, forgive, restore, and favor them? What were they supposed to do with all this favor? They thought it was all for themselves, that they were special, blessed, and privileged without asking why and what for. When they did, because of the comments of Jesus that day, the answer did not sit well. It meant that they were failing to live up to and become what God expected of them.

With the words of this living Gospel still fresh in our minds, its message is just as real and just as timely as ever before. We have to wonder why we call ourselves Christian and what it means. It certainly is not for our benefit or a reason to feel special, privileged, or somehow honored that God has given us the gift of faith. If we are called to be the presence of God or called to reflect the God who created us all in the divine image, we will be restless and more motived than ever to care for those no one else cares for, to protect those who are defenseless, to feed those who are hungry, and clothe those who are naked. There is no other way for us, and no excuse for delay. Thinking for one minute that somehow, we are the center of God’s focus and God’s favored ones runs the risk of Jesus passing through and leaving us. Our lives, our faith, our gifts are all given and entrusted to us for one thing, to accomplish the work in God serving the needs of others. When they said “no” that message in that synagogue, Jesus left. We can’t make that mistake.

The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

27 January 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Nehemiah 8, 2-10 + Psalm 19 + 1 Corinthians 12, 12-30 + Luke, 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21

I just love the dramatic way the church stops this reading right here. Next week we pick up with the following verse, and we know what happens when the people start grumbling about what he says, and Luke will tell us that they are “filled with fury”, but we don’t go there yet lest we shift our focus onto them, onto someone else. We must take just these verses and deeply and personally wonder what God is saying to us, because these verses are aimed straight at us, the church, and these words are not proclaimed as comfort from the past, but as a program for today.

The scriptures are fulfilled in us. We are the body of Christ, and we cannot either proclaim or listen to this Word of God without be shaken into action. The plan and program for the life of Jesus Christ is the plan and program for anyone who dares to call themselves by his name as Christian and presumes to consume his Body and Blood. These are not options. What he proclaims as the program of his life and for our lives, if we choose to be his disciples, is specific and measurable. If the poor see us coming, it must be good news for them, not fear that we might take more from them or drive them away. If the poor see us coming, they should have hope because when they see Christ or Christians, they know that help is on the way. What are the oppressed to expect when they see us coming? Will it simply be polite indifference that suggests they should get lost? Luke leaves us to wonder just what is acceptable to the Lord by these words of Jesus, and by that wondering we might evaluate our values and our behavior because all that is left now is you and me. We are all the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed have left to hope for.

It seems to me that there are five kinds of Christians after all this time. There are some who are Christian in name only. They pay no attention to the customs and beliefs of Christianity. There is no commitment. The second group are Christian by habit only. They are committed to the outward observances, but it has no affect upon their way of life. The third are clearly devoted to their faith and are engaged in good works, but they are without any of the qualities of mercy and kindness that made their Master so appealing. A fourth group are practical Christians. They have grasped the heart of mission of Jesus Christ, concerned about others and are never ashamed to be seen as Christians. The fifth group however are spiritual people. In meeting them, it is always as though we have met Christ himself not just someone doing good works because it makes them feel or look good.

By wondering what is acceptable to the Lord we shall be led into this fifth group. By our faith and the power Jesus Christ in our lives, we have a daunting task and a great privilege. The only way many people are ever going to come to know Jesus Christ is from our lives not from a Bible Study or some program in self-help. As Luke begins his Gospel with this story, he is revealing who Jesus Christ is. What our proclamation of this Gospel also reveals is just who we are and why.

21 January 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Isaiah 62, 1-5
+ Psalm 96 + 1 Corinthians 12, 4-11 + John 2, 1-11

Can’t you just imagine what Mary said to her son as they were leaving that wedding feast? I can, and have often enjoyed sitting with this episode wondering what it was like for the wine steward, the servers, the bride and the groom, their parents. We’ve all been to weddings big and small, and we know how many people it takes to satisfy the expectations of everyone. So, when we sit with this story, your imagination can lead to some wonderful insights which might well be revelations. So, on their way home, Mary says to Jesus: “Really?” Jesus says: “What?” She looks at him as only a mother can and says: “600 gallons of extra ordinary wine! Really? Was that necessary?” With that, I suspect that like every son, he rolled his eyes and shook his head wondering: “She told me to do something, and I did.”

As much as we might like it to be, this is not about marriage or families or weddings. The principal characters are not the bride and groom. This is really about wine and a wedding feast, and what we can see here is what God has planned by coming to be with us. The writer, John, calls this the first of the “signs”. He never uses the word “miracle.” In John’s Gospel, these are all signs of things to come. Now remember, those people didn’t drink water. They washed in it. They didn’t have coke, pepsi, or punch. They drank wine, and the wine of their life, we are told, has run out. In other words, they are lifeless. There is no joy. There is no excitement, no laughter, no anticipation of good things to come. A wedding without wine is an empty ritual without any passion. It is dead. Then comes God in the person of Jesus Christ, welcomed as a guest. Empty jars are like empty hearts and empty lives, so he says, fill them up, and the good news is that they obeyed, and best of all, they filled them to the brim! That’s the way to respond to what God asks. No half-hearted reluctance, no half-done response. Go all the way, and look what happens when they do.

It’s an experience that will be repeated more than once. Think about the loaves and fishes and what happens when those who are with him do what Jesus asks. These are signs of things to come. They are signs of what happens when with Jesus we use what little we have and discover that it is always more than enough. There is in our life time too much dryness, too little joy, too many empty jars, and too many liturgies that have too little spirit, and no passion. Too many have become accustomed to all this going through the motions without any expectation of what is to come. The real sadness is not the lack of wine, but the passivity of those who do nothing. Mary refused to do nothing and accept a joyless wedding feast. She was already convinced of how extravagant and bountiful life can be lived in the presence of God. She teaches us today how to make things different, how to take a dry, empty life, lived with no expectations about the future. This Gospel, and this Church proclaims again and again that God has come, that God is the guest who can change everything with lavish love when we turn Jesus and do what he asks.

13 January 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Isaiah 40, 1-5, 9-11 + Psalm 29 + Acts 10, 34-38 + Luke 3, 15-16; 21-22

A few weeks ago, I was sitting with the RCIA group, and it was time for some open questions. Someone in the group asked why Jesus had to be Baptized. It seemed strange to this man that Jesus would be baptized as though he needed to repent or be saved. I always love the questions that get asked at RCIA, because they so often touch on things that those of us who were Baptized as infants and raised in Catholicism never think to ask, but probably should. The paradox of the Christ’s Baptism is in every way another Epiphany or manifestation of who Jesus Christ is for us. It’s a good question, and the answer leads us deeper into the wonder of the Incarnation, the wonder and the profound mystery of God becoming one of us.

For the earliest followers of Christ who were living side by side with the followers of John the Baptist, the very thought that their Lord had undergone baptism by John was embarrassing and troublesome. There was some competition between the two groups, and this issue pushed it further. They wondered, and we should too, how the Immaculate Lamb, the very Holy Jesus might have submitted to this act of purification. Could it possibly mean that he too was part of the unclean, guilty, and sinful humanity?

The Church’s best answer to the question is simply this feast itself, and its placement as the conclusion of the Christmas Season. This feast in a sense is a great AMEN to what we as a church have celebrated since Advent began. What we have here is a concrete example of God stooping down in loving kindness to us. What we have here is a deeper revelation of what it means for the Word to become Flesh. There is in a gesture, an act of humiliation on God’s part as an introduction to what is to come with the final humiliation and death on a cross.

When we look back at the Baptism of Jesus from the view point of his Crucifixion, it begins to make sense. What is revealed through Jesus, from his baptism to his death is the perfect love God for us. At his Baptism, the Savior chose to be one of us right where we are. He chose to enter into solidarity with us sinners though we are. The whole destiny of Jesus begins in the waters of the Jordan at the hands of John, and this feast and what it means can carry us on to Easter.

There is then cause for rejoicing here, because no matter where we are, who we are, and no matter what we have done, Christ has been there and done it with us. Ours is a God who enters the darkness again and again when we are in the darkness in order to lead us into the light.

Now we know what it really is we have celebrated since December 24^th. Now we see the plan of God revealed in the simplest of ways: a plan to be with us, to be within us, and to raise us up through the waters of death to the Light of the Kingdom. Think about it through this week, and think about what it means for God to be so humbled and so humiliated as to stand with sinners who need to be purified. The real purification will not be by water, but by his blood poured out for us.

6 January 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, Fl

Isaiah 60, 1-6 + Psalm 72 + Ephesians 3, 2-3, 5-6 + Matthew 2, 1-12

There is often a real historical element to Gospel events that the writers use as a basis for bringing forth some revelation. This story is a perfect example. It makes the story complex and requires some time to sit with it turning over all the facets and elements that Matthew brings together. At the time Christ was born, the word “Magi” described powerful people from the Parthian empire just east of Judea. First readers of Matthew would know that Herod and Parthians were not friendly. The Parthians had invaded Judea just a few decades earlier. When they were eventually driven out, Herod took advantage of the chaos to size the throne. The Parthians never gave up a dream of coming back, and Herod knowing that as long as people saw him as a Roman puppet he would never be secure on the throne. So, when Parthians show up using the “K” word (King), Herod suspects someone is after his throne, and he goes wild; and the murder of infants is the result. What all this does in Matthew’s Gospel is put Jesus right in the middle of a political struggle that in the end, threatens and eventually costs him his life. Even though just a baby, in the first year of his life, huge forces rise up to threaten his mission. No matter what is going on between the Parthians and Herod, Jesus is at the center, and Herod’s actions begin to make the mission of Jesus, even as an infant, the center of attention, and a threat to those who have something to lose.

When the political situation begins to touch the religious situation, something more disturbing spins out of this story. Those religious leaders of the day had every reason to keep the peace – to not make waves so that they could continue running the Temple as they always had in spite of the occupation of the Romans. Their rituals gave them a living and did nothing to disturb the peace. It is both odd and disturbing that when these religious leaders are called upon to explain what the Scriptures foretold about a messiah, they could quote chapter and verse, confirming what was happening. Yet, they were complacent, unaffected, and not even curious. Have you not ever wondered why they didn’t throw everything aside and join up with these magi? They know that the prophecy was being fulfilled.  They missed the point entirely, and it set them up for what they continued to do with Jesus: block what God had begun.

My friends, this story reminds us that Immanuel is still waiting to be discovered. We can either be threatened by the possibility of that happening or know that it is happening remaining unaffected and not even curious, or we can get into the search which might take us to places we never thought of and invite to look toward people we never considered worthy. Our best bet is that we join these “magi” who are curious and willing to wander, look, inquire, and seek. All around us there are contemporary magi: young people hungry for spiritual nourishment they have not found among us. There are women, who feel like unwelcome outsiders when they come to offer their gifts. There are gay women and men who are judged and treated as though they were contagious, and there are foreigners at every boarder whose children are taken or who are chased off at gun point, because they might ask something of us. Even more sadly, ten percent of the U.S. population identify as “former Catholics” not because they lack faith, but because they have been hurt or betrayed. All of these people are also sincere seekers like the magi who made a mistake and went to the wrong place, powerful Jerusalem rather than the humble place, Bethlehem.

The star of this story could be like the sun in the morning giving us a wake-up call inviting us to get up, to get curious, to wonder, to look and seek because the really wise came with treasures of earth in their hands and left with the treasure of Heaven in their hearts. My wish and hope for this New Year is that anything that leaves us complacent and unaffected by the Gospel will be gone leaving us excited, joyful, and expectant about the final coming of Christ.

1 January 2019 at St. Peter & St. William Churches in Naples, FL

Number 6, 22-27 + Psalm 67 + Galatians 4 407 + Luke 2, 16-21

When you say “Yes” to God, a lot of stuff happens that doesn’t always make sense, and just because you believe and trust in God there is no “free pass” when it comes to confusion, doubt, and even sometimes fear. This woman whose memory and whose name we honor today said “Yes”, and with that, her life began a spiral of surprises and unexpected events. There was that visit to Elizabeth whose child leapt at Mary’s arrival. There were these shepherds we hear about today. How could they have found her? There were those old people in the Temple, Simenon and Anna who said such strange things about her child. There were visitors from afar, and shortly thereafter there was a hurried, unexpected rush off to a foreign place to escape violence and death. Then there was her son himself who seemed so at home in the Temple and ran around with a wild man from the desert. Then he went off with those fishermen and began to keeping company with tax collectors and suspicious women. He got people upset with his behavior in synagogue, and some of the Pharisees were cautious around him while scribes were downright angry. With some other family members, she went to bring him home and talk some sense into him, but he started talking about other mothers, brothers and sisters. Don’t fool yourself with some misguided piety. She didn’t get it. She never understood.

There is no reason to believe that she understood any of this or that she understood what God was asking of her. Like anyone else who is a parent, like any of you, time after time you look at your children and wonder where they came from? Where did they get those ideas they brought home? Sometimes you may have even wondered where they found some of those friends they hung around with. They start out the door and you ask, “Where are you going?” The answer you get is: “Out.” “Who with?” you ask, and they say, “Friends”, and you are left to wonder why you even asked the question. “What will they be?” you wonder, and at that point you and this woman from Nazareth suddenly have something in common: wonder.

Wondering is the skill of a faithful parent who knows the difference between their will and God’s will. Think of it this way. Consider how this woman grew as she continued to ponder not just the stuff that was happening, but ponder and reflect on how that stuff that was happening could be God’s will and part of God’s plan which is always bigger than we are. When her son was twelve-year-old, she said: “How could you do this to us?” Years later at the foot of the cross, there is none of that reproach even though there was even greater pain. She does not stand before her tortured son and say: “How could you do this to us?” We all know that at any point, he could have gone silent and returned to the carpenter shop. Step by step, in a sense, he got himself into that mess. This time, I think she had grown enough in faith and wisdom to surrender to something she did not understand, and stand with hope and confidence in the one promise God had made to her at the very beginning. “Nothing is impossible with God.”

Wonder does not always lead to understanding, but it can lead to acceptance and surrender in the face of the unknown and unexpected. What we see here is the importance of reflection which is the active side of wonder. Only by reflection do we come to understand our experiences. From reflection comes insight. Sadly, some people learn nothing from experience. But there are others for whom experience is their real school. Wisdom is not simply accumulating fact and knowledge. No one become wise in a day. It takes years, and wisdom is the fruit of reflection.

Parents, Mary shows us, need a lot of wisdom. Mary got her wisdom from pondering, and I believe she passed that on to her son, who Saint Luke reminds us, grew in wisdom, grace, and favor before God. That Jesus was taught, nourished, and formed by a wise woman who loved God with all her heart. We honor her today, and we begin a new year led to wonder, ponder, and reflect upon the past year so that with wisdom me may be prepared for whatever is to come.