2

VISITATION

Prayer is not just listening.

God loves to visit people!

When the Lord visits us –
it’s a call us to stand up, get moving
and reach out to others.

Visitation always follows annunciation.

How could anyone hold in Good News?

A mouth needs an ear.

And Mary went with haste
into the hill country
to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

Friendship.
People visiting people.
People caring,
listening, spending time with,
wondering how the other person is doing.

Can I help?

The knocking on the door,
the sending of the letter,
the surprise call,
the reaching out in haste
to come into another’s life,
into another’s world,
into another’s need.

Annunciations
lead to visitations.
Annunciations:
those moments of prayer
that rivered the flow of the Spirit into Mary’s life,
immediately flowing into action,
an uphill river of love,
the movement of Christ into the world.

Annunciations
lead to visitations:
calls to an awareness of another,
to another’s needs,
calls to love, to service.

This is the Way to live life –
and Mary showed us the Way to do it.
As soon as she knew someone could use her help
she dropped everything.
She set out in haste
to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

And Elizabeth greeted her with words
that would flow like a river from that day forward.
“Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

And the baby leapt with joy in Elizabeth’s womb.
And with the coming of the Messiah
the world would soon leap
another step forward towards the Father.

And Mary sang her song,
her Magnificat, her gospel for all ages,
for all women, for all men,
for all those who want to visit and serve their neighbor.
“My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit finds joy in God my Savior.”

It was a song of joy,
a summary of all the Old Promises,
that the Savior would come,
that the Messiah would come
and the proud would be humbled
and the humble would be exalted.

Soon the blind beggars would see themselves
invited into the kingdom,
invited to the banquet
and find themselves sitting next to
the poor and the hungry,
enjoying the company of people
they were not supposed to be seen with,
people they weren’t supposed to enjoy.

And those who look down on them,
who look down on sinners and prostitutes
and the poor and the hungry in hell,
a hell of their own making, lonely and looking in.

And Mary stayed there 3 months with her cousin Elizabeth.
The two gathered together in his name
and there he was in their midst. Amen.

3

NATIVITY

“And the word became flesh
and dwelt among us.”
Christmas is a wonderful feast.

The birth of a baby is always Good News
of great joy!

God the Silent, speaks.
God the Invisible, becomes visible.
God the Darkness, gives light.
The unexpected, the unbelievable, happens.
God empties himself to become one of us.

“Have no fear
I bring you tidings of great joy
to be shared with all the people.”

“This day in David’s city,
a savior has been born to you,
the Messiah and Lord.”

“O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.”

There was no room in the inn.
There was no room in the world.
There was no room in our hearts,
yet he came.

A light went on
in the dark house of earth
and the darkness
will never be able to put it out.

A star appears on the wall of night.
“Silent night,
holy night,
all is calm,
all is bright.”

Awake shepherds!
Awake wise men!
Awake, O Jerusalem.
Your hope is here;
your savior has appeared.
A flower has sprung
from Jesse’s stock
and a star has risen from Jacob.

But I warn you now in a dream
that he is not what you are expecting.
God never does that.
God is never what you expect him to be.
God has emptied himself,
becoming a baby.
The hand of God has baby fingers.

This baby is God
who is beyond our imagination,
beyond our brains.

God becoming human,
becoming a baby is
ridiculous.
Who could believe it?

Surprise! The Christmas story
features shepherds and kings,
the rich and the poor.

Go to the stable!

You’ll find Mary and Joseph,
a couple from Nazareth,
80 miles from home,
in the little town of Bethlehem,
House of Bread,
Breadbox of the World.

God feeds us with the finest of wheat.
Peace on Earth,
Good will to all.

Gifts?
What kind of a Christmas gift,
a birthday gift,
can I bring him?
What does he want of me?
I don’t know.
I’m empty too.
I’ll come to him
like a child in the silent night empty,
but ready to be filled
with the word,
with the Light.
There he is, an infant,
wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.
See the light.
See the halo of light, enlightenment, delight,
surrounding him.
Jesus is Emmanuel - God with us.
His tiny fingers reach out for Mary,
for Joseph,
for the ox and the ass,
for you and for me,
for the whole of creation.
He’s trying to grab the whole of creation.
His arms opening wider and wider
to embrace the world,
to embrace the Father.
Come Lord Jesus
Come.

4

PRESENTATION

Present!

It’s easy to say “Present,”
as we did a thousand times as kids in school”,
but to be really present, now that is difficult.

And Mary and Joseph
brought the baby to the temple
to present him to the Lord.

They walked through the crowd,
up the steps, past the money changers,
till they came to the tables
of those who were selling doves.
Some of the buyers, the sellers,
the people on the lines,
stopped for a brief moment,
stopped to smile into the face of this baby boy.
and then it was back to business as usual
here in the temple of the Lord.
Did these people know
that this was the one,
this was the Son,
who would one day rise in anger
to turn over these very tables,
to drive them and their children,
along with the money changers
out of the temple area?

Did these people forget
that this was the house of God,
that this was a house of prayer?

Then Mary and Joseph walked deep
into the darkness of the temple,
carrying their son, a candle,
the Light of the world.

They walked past Pharisees and Publicans in prayer.
They walked to the place
where they could offer their poor sacrifice:
two small birds, in thanksgiving to the Lord
for all their blessings.
Being poor,
this is all that they could offer.
Being rich,
they came to offer up the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.

Suddenly, in the middle of the ceremony
an old man arrives in the temple.
His eyes are rushing, searching,
his mouth is muttering,
his legs are moving as fast as possible
trying go locate the child.
Simeon knew that the Spring
he had been waiting for
had finally arrived in the winter of his life.

“Look! There is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
Look there is the child.
There is the One!”
He stands there and bursts into prayer,
thanking God that his long wait is finally over.

“Enough!” he says in an old man’s prayer.
“God you can now take me.
What more is there in life for me to see?
Here is the Light of the world.
Here is the Light
that will be seen by the Gentiles;
here is the Glory of Israel.”

He stops speaking.

Silence.

Then Simeon looks into Mary’s eyes,
into Mary’s heart.
Slowly, he begins to tell her
the good news and the bad,
the sweet and the sour stories
of everyone’s life.

“This child is to be part
of the joyful and sorrowful mysteries of your life,
and everyone’s life from now on.”

“A sword will pierce your heart,
so that the thoughts of all hearts will be revealed.”

And after Simeon came Anna.
It reminded Mary of the stable of Bethlehem,
the arrival first of the shepherds
and of the wise men.
Anna was one of those old women
you find in every temple.
Age had bent her like an anchor,
a sign of hope.
She came to Mary and Joseph;
she came with good news only.

“This child,”
putting her hand on the baby’s heard,
“is destined to deliver Israel.”

With that Mary and Joseph left the temple
and thought about these predictions
all the way back to Galilee and beyond.
And as Mary watched her son grow
in size and strength,
in wisdom and grace,
she turned all these thing
over and over again in her mind.

5

FINDING

“Lost and found,”
words that appear
over and over again in our life.
The time we lost a wallet,
the time we lost our keys,
the time we lost a wedding ring,
the time we lost a friend,
and the time we thought we lost God.

Lost and found,
death and resurrection,
the seesaw of life,
sorrow turning into joy
when our prayers are finally answered.

Jesus was now 12 years old.
And as usual
Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem
for the great feast of the Passover,
the feast of the Unleavened Bread.
On the road to Jerusalem
the pilgrims sang and rejoiced,
enjoying these moments
far away from the “everyday”.
“I rejoiced because they said to me,
‘We will go up to the house of the Lord.
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.’”

Joy, wonder, the marvels of a big city,
especially for a small boy.
Family, food, friends, being with a crowd,
so different from the quite life
of a small town like Nazareth.

And Jesus’ eyes took in everything,
but especially the thousands of lambs
being brought into the city
to be slaughtered for the feast.
Jesus watched the lambs.
They seemed to sense that something was wrong,
that something was going to happen to them.
Why this trip to Jerusalem?
Why not stay back home,
safe and far away from this city?
Jesus felt for them.
During the whole feast
he could hear their strange silence,
their quiet resignation,
their patience,
their wondering about the “what’s next?”
Did they know
that they were about to be slaughtered,
about to give their bodies,
so others could eat?

Death.

And on that night
different from all other nights,
Jesus sat there eating the lamb,
picking up the bread
and with each sip of the cup
he took deep thoughts
into the past
and began to wonder
about the future.

And at times
he went to the window of the house
where they were staying
and he listened to the music
and the laughter
coming from the houses on the street,
people in upper rooms,
celebrating a last meal
with their relatives
before they would be heading home,
back to the grindstone,
the millstone,
the fields
and the carpenter shops.

In the morning Mary and Joseph
packed everything and started home,
filled with that satisfied feeling,
with that “wanting to get home” feeling,
back to reality,
back to work.

The holiday was over,
the vacation was ended.

Then they discovered half-way home
that Jesus was missing.
Where is he?Where is Jesus?

She thought he was with him.
He thought he was with her.

It was a normal mix up.
It happens in every family.

They looked everywhere,
till they realized
that he must still be back in Jerusalem.
Lost?
Dead?
Where is Jesus?

And on the third day
they found their lost sheep,
their lost coin,
their lost son,
resurrected,
very much alive,
and teaching in the temple.
They stood back and watched him.
Questions.
Questions.
Questions.

He was searching,
probing,
testing out all that he had wondered about
in the carpenter shop and in the synagogue in Nazareth.

Finally, they went up to him
and asked the question
that all parents ask,
“Why did you do this to us?”
“Don’t you realize we were worried?
Don’t you realize
that we care about you?
Don’t you realize
that you just can’t do a thing like this to us?”

And Jesus answered,
“Don’t you realize
that I must be about my Father’s business?”

Anger? Fear? Frustration? Wonder?
What was their reaction
to those strange new words
coming from a 12 year old boy?
Parents trying to figure out a child.
He was becoming a man.
Jesus went home with them to Galilee.
And Mary and Joseph
continued to talk about Jesus
and why he did this to them.
Kids. When do they become free?
When do they really leave home?
Is it long before they actually do it?

They didn’t know.
And Mary turned all these questions
over and over again in her mind.
The sword was starting
to make its sharpness felt.
She began questioning God
in the temple of her heart.

Questions.
Questions.
Questions.

Prayer.
Prayer.
Prayer.

THE
FIVE
LUMINOUS
MYSTERIES!

“As long as the day lasts
I must carry out the work
of the one who sent me;
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.”
John 9: 4-5

1

THE BAPTISM

OF JESUS

There comes a day in everyone’s life
when they know it’s time to leave home,
when it’s time to begin one’s life’s work.

There comes a day in everyone’s life
when they feel the great call for Exodus,
Redemption, Deliverance, Salvation, Freedom.

The call comes to those who feel
they are trapped, stuck, locked into
their own personal form of slavery:
addicted to laziness, lust, or lack of purpose,
self-centeredness or self neglect,
not seeing neighbor, not seeing God,
driven by greed, envy, jealousy,
or self preening pride.

The call comes to those who
feel their life has become
an ongoing inner complaining
that they have been dealt a bad hand.

The call comes to those who realize,

“I’m living on the wrong side of the river.”

This is what John the Baptist was about.

He went into the wilderness
to talk to God about all this.

Then he came out of that desert
a changed person.

John the Baptist heard
the call of God
to grow up and branch out
to become a good tree.

John echoed his call by calling others
to conversion, to their moment of change,
to experience the change he experienced.

And John the Baptist proclaimed
for all of us to do the same thing:
Stop!
Take time out.
Retreat.
Go into your desert.
Enter your wilderness.
Face your emptiness.
See yourself as a dead tree without fruit.
Learn that you need Living Water.

Be baptized.
Enter the Living Water.
Be plunged into Life.

John the Baptist symbolized
the call to change
after a person experiences, "I'm empty!"

and the emptiness of a desert teaches that.

John the Baptist sybolized

the call to be baptized in the Jordan.
Come to the Jordan.
Come to the River of Change!
Come to the very river the people of Israel
went into and went through
when they wanted to enter the Promised Land.
Walk on the right side of the river.

But in time
they slipped back into slavery,
into a time before the Promised Land,
back into slavery of Egypt.

Jesus,
the New Adam,
the New Israel,
the New Person all of us are called to be,
came to that River.

The baptism of Jesus
in the Jordan River
was a breakout moment.

It has overtones

of some of the greatest moments
in the Old Testament:

· the opening words of Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was a formless void and there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the waters;
· the end of the great flood and Noah released the dove and it came back carrying an olive branch – the symbol of a new beginning;
· the escape, the Passover, from Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea into the desert;
· the entrance to the Promised Land by crossing the Jordan River.

Picture the scene.

See Jesus stepping
into the water of the Jordan.
See him plunging into the water.
Notice the heavens openning.
See Jesus' face as he hears the words
“This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him."

See the smile on Jesus' face

because he has just heard

one of life's greatest realizations -

one of life's greatest revelations,

"I am beloved by God.

I have something to say.

Listen to me!"

The Spirit like a dove lands on his shoulder.

A new Spirit,
the Holy Spirit has come to us.

2

THE REVELATION

AT CANA

Jesus was invited to a wedding.

Every couple should invite Jesus

to their wedding,
into their relationship,
into their situation,
into their plans.

Jesus went to the wedding
and his mother and disciples were also invited.

The wedding was in a small town, Cana, in Galilee.

Surprise!
They ran out of wine.

Did they invite too many?
Were they poor?
Was the wedding poorly planned?

Every married couple
find themselves in the same situation.
They run out of patience.
They run out of understanding.
They run out of the sparkle.
They run out of conversation.
They run out of making the effort
to make their marriage work better.

This couple in Cana of Galilee
ran out of wine right in the beginning
of their marriage – the day of their wedding feast.

Jesus, when preaching and teaching,
often talks about wedding banquets.
He too had heard that the prophets of Israel
often saw the dream of life
here and hereafter as a wedding banquet.

We can relate to that:
when families unite,
when people dance and celebrate,
when people eat and drink and sing together,
they forget their struggles and stresses,
at least for a few hours

Jesus changed water into wine at Cana.

Jesus changed 6 large water jars into wine.

Jesus saved a couple’s wedding.

It’s the first of Jesus’ signs.

The Kingdom had begun

In the Gospel of John

where we hear this wonderful story,

we notice that it was Mary
who pushed Jesus to save the situation.

Jesus did.

And people got a glimpse

that there was much more to come.

3

THE PROCLAMATION
OF THE KINGDOM

As one reads the Gospels of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John,
one begins to hear about “The Kingdom.”

Those of us who don’t live in a country with kings and queens
still have an idea about what a kingdom is.

We get glimpses of kingdoms in the stories of our childhood –
as well the everyday language of image and metaphor.

And we pray “Thy Kingdom come” over and over again
when we say the Our Father.

Jesus had a dream on how life could be:
that dream is the Kingdom.

It’s the dream of his Father.

It’s the reason why God made us and gave us the gift of life on this planet.

That reasoning, that dream, that hope, that will of the Father and discovered by Jesus in prayer is the Kingdom: Thy Kingdom come!

Jesus proclaims the coming of the kingdom of God.
He calls all to conversion
He calls for forgiveness,
to open our hands,
to drop the rocks,
to share our cloaks and our bread with each other.

The Kingdom is the dream.

We need to listen to each other’s dreams.

We know from the Gospel of Luke that Jesus listened to the dreams of Isaiah.

He opened up the scroll of Isaiah when he went into the synagogue in Nazareth and found the passage where it said, “The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God.” (Cf. Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4: 18-19).

If we read the whole scroll of Isaiah we will be reading the life of Jesus. So much repeats itself. The word becomes flesh in Jesus. The best of the Old Testament is married to the New. New wine tickles the words on old leather skins with words of life still fermenting.
And Jesus called people to this kingdom – to lead this life.

And Jesus called disciples to live this life – and then proclaim it.

And the message is still being lived.

4

THE TRANSFIGURATION
ON THE MOUNTAIN

Sometimes we need to escape.

Ever feel that way.

Sometimes we need to get away from it all.

Sometimes we need to see life in a different perspective.

Sometimes we need to see others in a new light!

Sometimes Jesus felt crowded in from every side.

Sometimes Jesus needed to get away from it all.

Sometimes he’d hide in the dark of night.

Sometimes he’d find a deserted place.

He recommended going into one’s inner room and being with the Father in prayer.

Then there was the day he went to the mountains.

This was to be a special moment.

He invited three of his closest friends to be with him.

Matthew, Mark and Luke
all tell the story about
this invitation to Peter, James and John
to climb the mountain with him.

Jesus was transfigured before them.
They were transfixed in the Light of the World.

They were so overwhelmed that they wanted to stay there forever.

Honeymoons end! Celebrations cease! We have to go home – even though it’s a wonderful wedding.

It’s important to know we’ve touched the heights.

But life is also the depths – the valleys – the down below.

Without the heights, we can’t deal with the depths.

Concerts, plays, games, can be transfiguration moments.

Hopefully, church moments, Mass moments, prayer moments top them all.

Hopefully, some Sundays in church we see Christ, family, friends, strangers, life itself
in a new light.

Martin Luther King Jr. is known for
his powerful preaching and powerful images – which he culled from the mountains of “I’ve been to the mountain.”

He had a Transfiguration moment at his kitchen table and after that – not matter what happened in the valley – he could take it, because he was to the mountain.

Those who have mountains to look at
from their windows tell us they are a constant source of strength.

Church spires try to touch the skies and those who see them from a distance are inspired.

Most of life however takes place in the valley.

The great Christian mystery and message
is that God came down from the mountains of eternity, the mountains of night, from way beyond the furthest clouds and became a plain baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Jesus learned to walk and talk, 
laugh and reach out for beards and beads,
and began walking the valley.

Jesus made the words
of Psalm 23 become flesh
as he dwelt amongst us.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd,
who walks the valley floor with us.

Jesus is the Searching Shepherd,
who tries to find us – especially
when we try to climb the heights alone
and get caught in thickets.

Jesus the Smiling Shepherd
brings us back home to the sheepfold
after he finds us lost in the mountains.

5

THE INSTITUTION
OF THE EUCHARIST

Eucharist means “Thank You.”

The Mass is a Thanksgiving meal.
When we celebrate Thanksgiving we don't have to be told that this is a time to say, "Thank You God."
If you don't do anything else when you come to Mass, at least say, "Thank You God."
Sometimes thanksgiving erupts out of our heart:
when we are given a surprise gift,
when someone compliments us,
when someone notices all we are doing for them or others,
when we escape a near accident.

Hopefully, saying “Thank you”
is one of our everyday speeches.

Thank you!

And then there are the times
we find ourselves saying in prayer,
“Thank You, God. Thank You.”

We also say that we escape a near accident.

We say that when we see a brand new baby.

Some people say, “Thank You God”
at the beginning and end of each day.

On the night before Jesus died,
he had a last supper with his disciples.
He took bread, gave thanks,
and handed it to his disciples saying,
This is my body.
I am giving it to you.
Then he took a cup of wine
and also handed it to his disciples and said,
“This is my blood.
I’m pouring it out for you.
Do this in memory of me.”

The Mass is entering that sacred moment.
The Mass is entering this sacred memory.
The Mass ends with the follower of Jesus
being sent to go out and give his body and blood to others.
The Mass ends with the message,
as Mother Teresa of Calcutta put it,
“Let the people eat you up.”

And some of them will say,”Thank you.”

And some of them will say,
“Thank You, God,
for bringing this person into my life.”

God is keeping all of creation going.

God just didn’t create billions of years ago.
God is creating right now.

The carpenter made the chair 5 years ago.

God created this universe and whatever else is created 5 billion or whatever billion years ago – and is still creating it.

Sometimes on a starry, starry night people sense this looking out into the galaxies or seeing a rose in bloom or a bird in flight or a child on a parent’s shoulders.

Thank you!

But sometimes we miss God.

Sometimes we ignore the Creator

Sometimes we forget a carpenter designed this chair.

So God in time decided to be amongst us
in a different way of connecting.
God came as a baby.

Jesus, the Son of God,
walked amongst us as a Baby,
a Carpenter, a Healer, a Preacher,
a Crucified One.
And he also connects with us through Words, Bread, Wine, and Companions.

Jesus keeps coming to us in a meal.

Some miss the connection.
Some get it and say, “Thank You!”

THE
FIVE
SORROWFUL
MYSTERIES


“Come down off that cross
if you are God’s Son!”
Matthew 27:40

1

THE AGONY
IN THE GARDEN

Jesus came to the entrance of the garden,
hesitated and then walked in.

Right now,
Jesus had an overpowering need to pray.

He needed time,
time to be with his Father,
for strength, strength to do his will.

He walked deeper and deeper into the garden,
into the agony,
into the garden of Fear.

And there on the table of fear
was the chalice of pain,
the cup of death.

It was easy to drink the cup of wine at supper,
but now to drink this cup of sorrows,
this cup of suffering,
knowing the end was near,
this was the agony in the garden.

The wine tonight in the upper room tasted good.

It should have; it was with friends.

But tomorrow, the wine will turn to vinegar.

It will have the sour taste of betrayal.

Right now he needed friends, not enemies,
wine not vinegar.

He needed the presence of Peter, James and John
as he was about to climb the mountain of disfiguration.

They were exhilarated
when they climbed the mountain of transfiguration.

Could they not watch one hour with him?

He hoped Judas was far away.

Jesus fell down,
falling deeper into prayer,
deeper into the agony.

Fear filled his night.

Sounds of hammers, hatred, spit,
filled the cup in front of him.
“Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass me by,
but not my will,
but your will be done.”

Jesus, you are facing,
you are making the major decision of your life.

Yes or no?

Acceptance or rejection?

The hard or easy side of life?

“Why do things have to be this way Father?”

A garden is for walking in the cool of the evening.
A garden is for delights,
to eat only the good fruit,
to avoid the tree of evil,
the bitter fruit of life.

These moments
were like the moments of temptation in the desert,
the wanting and the not wanting to do the Father’s will.

Suddenly,
while his friends slept
Jesus heard the footsteps of betrayal behind his back,
and quickly he grabbed the cup before him.

“Yes, Father, I have come to do your will.”