Word of the Week Archives 1999

Dec.23, 1999	The Holy Family
	"Can you imagine Joseph and Mary screaming at Jesus and telling him, 'Clean up your mess. Get ready for synagogue...now!' and young Jesus yelling back, 'I don't want to...I'm busy. We went last week.' "
Dec. 16, 1999	Season of a Lifetime
	"The secret to getting through life's hassles is simple enough--doing what God wants, no matter what. But even Mary in Sunday's Gospel does not always understand life."
Dec. 9, 1999	Prepare the Way
	"It must have been a cold December day when Juan Diego encountered Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her request seemed quite odd. 'Build a church on this site.' It was, however, the beginning of the much needed preparation to evangelize a new continent to Christianity."
Dec. 2, 1999	Conversion of Heart
	"The season of Advent is a time of preparation, of anxious expectancy. The entire universe looks forward to the deliverance of God to be revealed in the coming among us of the Savior."
Nov. 25, 1999	Our Hidden Gifts
	"Isaiah pleads with God to tear apart the heavens and descend into their midst. Like children swinging at a piata, the people pray, waiting for God to break into their lives, to shower them with gifts of forgiveness and lasting peace."
Nov. 18, 1999	The Role of King
	"In the army of our Lord, which is the Church, there are also three main divisions. The first is the laity, corresponding to the foot soldiers. Members of the diocesan clergy are the archers. The religious orders, being the more mobile, are the cavalry."
Nov. 11, 1999	Beyond Materialism
	"As sure as...as sure as what? Is there anything in life, even life itself, that we can be absolutely sure of? Most of us could probably live by the adage: Hope for the best, and expect the worst. Sounds rather pessimistic, but isn't it true?"
Nov. 4, 1999	The Master Will Come
	"Sometimes it may help simply to pray over this passage with one's own mortality in view. Even if end times are not at hand, there is still the prospect of death that each one must someday face, and the exact time is not ours to decide."
Oct. 28, 1999	Humbly Before God
	"For any Christian familiar with the Gospels, it must have been difficult these last couple of Sundays to fathom how the Pharisees could be so hard-hearted toward Jesus."
Oct. 21, 1999	Love Brings Joy
	"So, for all those curmudgeons we may encounter we have God's law of love to back us when we advise: Yes, Almighty God loves you enough to live within you. If you would only unplug from your ego you would hear him tell you that he loves you."
Oct. 14, 1999	To God and to Caesar
	"Christians of all beliefs plow, sow, water and reap an abundant harvest but never give thanks to him who gives the increase. Too much is being given to Caesar and not to God."
Oct. 7, 1999	We're Invited
	"Our lives as Catholic Christians were not sealed with an event a long time ago. Our baptism was just the beginning of our spiritual life. The grace we received then must mean something to us today."
Sept. 30, 1999	Our Vineyards
	"At baptism we were given a 'little vineyard to cultivate.' We were told to keep the faith alive in our hearts through prayer and good works."
Sept. 23, 1999	'Without Me...'
	"The weakness of human nature and human selfishness will take over without recourse to God's help. To think one can stand on one's own power is to deny one of the fundamental facts of life: We are receivers not creators."
Sept. 16, 1999	'Seek the Lord'
	"Who is God; what are my values; do I need to acknowledge this one God as proclaimed by the prophet and the Church?"
Sept. 9, 1999	Unless You Forgive...
	"The words of our Lord resonate as a clarion call to challenge us to an ardent discipleship that embraces love in its most delicate and intricate manifestation--forgiveness."
Sept. 2, 1999	The Matter of Wrongdoing
	"Since we are all unique individuals, each with a complex personality that is both imperfect and compounded by free will that has been tainted by sin, there always will be an opportunity for each one of us, at some point or another, to make an observation and address the fact of someone else's wrongdoing."
Aug. 26, 1999	The Cost
	"Men are not called universally to explore the moon or Mars, but all are called to an inward journey. Within Christianity, the model for this journey is, of course, Jesus himself."
Aug. 19, 1999	Who Is the Son of Man?
	"Throughout the history of mankind up until today, Jesus for many people is just a superstar--a person we can use for satisfying our own ideologies, a person on whom we can impose our own opinions."
Aug. 12, 1999	Mary, Our Model
	"We have evidence that the Church from early times celebrated Mary's assumption into heaven. This uninterrupted tradition is the basis as we continue to celebrate the feast of the Assumption."
Aug. 5, 1999	Walk With God
	"Christ's compassionate response to Peter is even more miraculous than his stroll across the waves. His chiding is gentle but his love is unfailing. Jesus accepts Peter, not as a perfect product but rather with the infinite patience someone a long way from the finish line needs to survive."
July 29, 1999	Thy Will Be Done
	"God has given each of us a life, and expects of each of us a death. As fearful creatures, it is quite normal to pray for an easy death. But as followers of Christ, we should also try to add, 'Not my will, but yours be done.' "
July 22, 1999	No Sacrifice Too Great
	"The pitfalls of the new paganism all around us should raise our guard to the essentials of our faith, so eaten away especially among the young. Many of them do not have a correct faith in the Eucharist. (And do we by reverence toward this sacrament show them the way?) All we have to do is open our eyes to what's around us, and we have cause to shudder."
July 15, 1999	Wheat and Weeds
	"Reports reach us almost daily about the unimaginable atrocities and crimes committed in different parts of the world. All of us wonder and are perplexed. And when we see the wicked prosper and thrive while the good have it hard in our world, we feel a sense of frustration and despair."
July 8, 1999	Planting the Seed
	"The 'soil' of my life to receive the word of God--do I really cultivate it to receive the seed--the Word--which is sacred, precious, life-sustaining, life-giving?"
July 1, 1999	The Invitation
	"Jesus invites us: 'Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.' Aren't we all, sometimes, desperate for that? For someone to offer us rest, someone to refresh us, accept us as we are; someone to love us simply for who we are."
June 24, 1999	The Mystery of the Cross
	"I remember one day in the sacristy of the church reaching for the pectoral cross to give to the bishop to wear around his neck during Mass. He looked at me and said, 'The cross, the cross is always in our lives.' "
June 17, 1999	Precious to God
	"Each is precious to God. Then, how precious each of us is to our Father. We have been created little less than the angels, redeemed by the cross, united in Christ as brothers and sisters."
June 10, 1999	Called to Serve
	"Every call or vocation that is received is given in view of a mission, in which God puts his plan in action, using each one of our experiences. For this he needs not only our response but also our permission and our faith."
June 3, 1999	Corpus Christi
	"Celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ gives all Catholics, especially those involved in the ministries of the Mass, the opportunity to reflect on how we celebrate the nourishment that God gives the Church."
May 27, 1999	'A Picture of God'
	"The mystery of how God lives within himself is beyond us. We speak of his self-communication as revelation but we become mired in the search for facts and significant proofs, while God is 'totally other.' The search, though, is important even if the goal of that search is found only in eternity where we 'shall see even as we are seen.' "
May 20, 1999	The Power of the Spirit
	"Doom and gloom seem to be the tenor of these days at the close of the millennium. With a war raging in Kosovo and massacres in our schools by children killing children, there is perhaps reason to be pessimistic in our predictions for the future."
May 13, 1999	We Need His Strength
	"It's interesting to look at the lives of the saints; all came to acknowledge their weakness. Those who have made serious attempts at living a spiritual life will know that without God's grace they are powerless. We need a strength we ourselves do not possess. In this 'do-it-yourself' age, this truth may come as a blow to our pride."
May 6, 1999	A New Way of Living
	"One of the difficulties facing the first disciples was what they would do once Jesus had gone. In a world torn apart for them by the absence of Jesus who showed them, in his person, the love of God, could they continue to believe?"
April 29, 1999	The Way to the Father
	"The Mass is the adoration of God. It acknowledges our dependence and need for redemption. We see that in the Mass we have access to God through Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life."
April 22, 1999	The Good Shepherd
	"Picture a recent immigrant on the streets of New York, looking for a job. Here, the only protection and guide is the shepherd who knows his sheep; whose voice the sheep know. What would a thief's voice sound like to a recent arrival?"
April 15, 1999	Loneliness
	"Are we stingy with our invitations? Do we fail to invite (even unwelcome) visitors to have a modest repast, a cup of tea or a piece of toast or bun? Do we greet the visitor who takes 'our place' in the pew at Sunday Mass with a pleasantry and a smile?"
April 8, 1999	Jesus' Work Is Never Done
	"The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter reminds us that the work of Jesus is not complete until all the wounded of the world are touched by the Gospel. To complete his work, Jesus had to free the Apostles from the fear that imprisoned them in the upper room."
April 1, 1999	Christ Is Risen
	"Jesus Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Say this often, and use these words to wish one another a wonderful Easter Sunday and a joyful Easter season!"

March 25, 1999	Journeying With Christ
	"While we naturally look back and reflect upon this exciting day, we must be careful not to linger excessively in historical revelry. Christ came not just for the people of Jerusalem; he came for us as well. "

March 18, 1999	'Restoration Sunday'
	"Are we that type of people? Are we working for peace and justice? Does the color of our neighbor or the country of his or her birth represent a barrier between us?"

March 11, 1999	See With New Eyes
	"Recently a friend who is legally blind from birth acquired a new set of eyes in the form of a guide dog--this after a close call with a city bus. Though she fought against such help for many years, it was literally a matter of life or death."

March 4, 1999	Our Encounter With God
	"As we get closer to God, his light dissipates the darkness of our lives--lies, idolatries, weaknesses and sins. At the same time, God's gifts of hope, love and salvation shine with a new brilliance."

Feb 25, 1999	Listen to Him
	"The season of Lent provides an opportunity for us to put aside the noise of the world and to hear the quiet voice of God within ourselves."

Feb 18, 1999	Making Choices
	"Lent is a time for us to focus on the choices we make in our lives. It is a time for us to ask forgiveness for making the wrong choices and to pray for the grace of conversion so that we may become more like Jesus who empowers us to overcome sin and temptation."

Feb 11, 1999	Choose to Be Free
	"We live in a world where the conventional wisdom urged and proclaimed is to choose what is good for us. 'Good for us' of course means choosing whatever satisfies our current pleasure principle."

Feb 4, 1999	The Salt of the Earth
	"In one of those arresting statements that are so much a feature of his writings, Cardinal John Henry Newman tells us that were the Church to be removed from the world, the end would not be long delayed."

Jan 28, 1999	'For I Am Humble'
	"The humble man or woman can more easily believe in Christ and his Gospel, can more easily hope in eternal life and can more easily love God and neighbor."

Jan 21, 1999	Time for a Change
	"We hear in Sunday's reading: Reform your lives, the reign of God is at hand. Let's ask ourselves what reform really means."

Jan 14, 1999	Lights to the World
	"The more we recognize Jesus, the more we identify with Jesus, the more we do the works of Jesus, then the more we fulfill our identity to be a holy people, lights in our world."

Jan 7, 1999	The Baptism of the Lord
	"We can see here that the baptism of Jesus not only inaugurates his public ministry, but also sets the theme of his ministry--a shocking humility which leads up to the supreme moment of his humbling himself by becoming 'obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.' "