Christmas Day Dec. 25th

Christmas Day
December 25, 2006


“The shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place.”
Luke 2:15

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Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus! The JOY is uncontainable! Thank you for journeying with me through Advent to Christmas! I pray that you will choose to allow Jesus become bigger and bigger for you so that all the problems, sufferings, and sin may become smaller and smaller in comparison. Thank you for your faith, your love and your friendship as we march on to our true home in heaven. Look forward to connecting with you in Lent!

Exciting News! My book will be out in about 3 months...

If you want to see a 40 second sound bite at what I do at some conferences: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Zatf9uARUo

If you want to give me a "You are Loved" story or sign my guest book: http://www.uareloved.com/


Today is Jesus’ Birthday! What should we get him for his Birthday?

I would like to suggest where he was born to help us with the answer. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. With the shepherds, let us go to Bethlehem. The word “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread.” Isn’t it fitting that the one who was born at the “house of Bread” becomes the Bread of Life for the entire world? And Mary, The Most Lovely Mother of God and Our Most Lovely Mother, gives birth to the Bread of Life by her full surrender to God. And I thank that is all Jesus wants for Christmas- that we would fully surrender to his plan for us. To try and become the perfect friend to our perfect friend- Jesus.

St. Catherine of Siena imaged it this way, “O Mary, may you be proclaimed blessed among women for endless ages, for today you have shared with us your flour. Today the Godhead is joined and kneaded into one dough with our humanity- so securely that this union could never be broken.” Isn’t that beautiful? Mary is sharing her flour, The Bread of Life, so that he can be kneaded into us with the one dough of friendship in a bond that can never be broken. And what Jesus wants for us this Christmas is to fully surrender to him being kneaded in us.

How can we let Jesus be kneaded in us? How do we become the perfect friend to our perfect friend? Let us remember why the Bread of Life came to the earth in the first place. Through sin, we had lost our true home and we had no way of getting there without divine help. Jesus came to earth to be the WAY back to our true home. He came to be the Savior who takes away all the sins of the world. Forever and ever, he pours out mercy and forgiveness and eternal life on us! That is his gift for us. And the best way we can make a gift-giver feel good about their gift is to rejoice and enjoy it to the full! Jesus just wants to be kneaded into us and be ecstatic with mercy, forgiveness and everlasting life. So, the gift Jesus most wants from us all this Christmas is our sins. Isn’t that a strange gift to give to Jesus? You and I would not want sins for Christmas. But, then again, you and I are not The Messiah, The Bread of Life who takes away the sins of the world.

GO TO CONFESSION! Give Jesus want he wants most this Holy Christmas Season. Thousands of people are reading this. If only one of you goes and makes a good confession, then it is all worth it to me. Think about Jesus being kneaded into you as you surrender your sin to him!!! Finally, I would love to hear your story of what The Bread of Life does for you when you go to confession.

Merry Christmas!
Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Fourth Sunday of Advent Christmas Eve Dec. 24th

Fourth Sunday of Advent Christmas Eve

December 24, 2006

“Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.”

Micah 5:1

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Fr. John's Web site: Web site- www.uareloved.com

Ever had a bad headache like a migraine? Migraines are amazing and amazingly painful. I used to get cluster migraines. I would usually get about 5-7 of them within a two week period. They would last anywhere from five to fifteen hours. Talk about pain. Usually within about five minutes warning, I would have a full blown migraine and the pain was often severe enough that I would be vomiting(sorry bout that detail). I even ended up going to the emergency room several times to get help for the intense pain.

And this incredible pain that put an earthquake on my whole body was caused a microscopic, unseen to the natural eye, nerve. How could something so small become so big?

Too small. Born in an unnoticed, backyard barn in Bethlehem. Raised in no-name Nazareth. There was no kingly or stately appearance about him, he looked just like any other man. An average-Joe carpenter who was born in such a small way and raised in a small town. How could something so small become so big?

But that is the work of God- he makes small big! You know the scriptures… “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to the mountain: Be thrown into the sea and it would.” Thousands of people converted at the power of the apostles preaching on the day of Pentecost. The lame walk, the blind see, sins are forgiven and the dead are raised to life. God making Big things through small people like you and me.

It is all about going small. Remembering we are no-names born in a backyard barn. We take after Jesus in seeking, being and living the small. We let the BIG (an acronym for Believing in God) come in to our small and move mountains, heal the lame and raise the dead. Yes, in our smallness, we go BIG! We pray and become the prayer of the Baptist, “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease.” John 3:30

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent Dec.23rd

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
December 23, 2006


“The Lord shows sinners the way.”
Psalm 25:8

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So, you ask me how I am doing? And I say, “Blessed.” Blessed by the baby that we celebrate the birth of on December 25th every year. Infinitely blessed that he is The Savior of the world. Blessed that he is saving a sinner like me. Unspeakably blessed by the faith of believers like you. I get a front row seat in seeing Jesus pour out his salvation in sinner after sinner. Knocked down by seeing the power of God at work through the truth that, “The Lord shows sinners the way.” Psalm 25:8

Blessed by a man who shines Jesus with his being. It is the eternal smile in his current pain and what he is facing. Seeing the undeniable JOY of his heart when you look into his eyes. In his late 50’s, he is a former heroine addict and health care worker. He cannot move his head from side to side because his neck is stiff like concrete. The humiliation of not being able to control bodily functions is very hard for him to cope with. The role reversal of being cared for by people that he used to care for. The Parkinson’s brings neurological, mental and physical deterioration. He has three to five years to live. He tells me that he has computed the average age of the patients in the facility and it is 84.6 years old. He beams JOY because he says Jesus has forgiven him. He just wants to share Jesus with everyone in the facility. Glowingly, he talks about if Jesus can raise people from the dead, and he can, that is he full of power and can do anything. He shares how he came back from the dead- that he was in and out of life and death for 7 hours and he came back to tell us about the one who is on the other side who raises us from the dead. With deep affection and inspiration, he talks about how his father, a big man over 200 pounds, just lets God fill him with love. His dad radiates love. Think about his man that I share with you. Dying. Degenerating. Deteriorating. And full of JOY! Wanting everyone to know Jesus.

The baby to be born in two days is Our Savior. He is the Lamb of God who takes away every sin from every sinner for all of time. He comes to us in the middle of our sin, pain, degeneration, humiliation, deterioration and dying and shows us the way.

Good News!

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Friday of the Third Week of Advent Dec. 22nd

Friday of the Third Week of Advent
December 22, 2006


"Hannah brought Samuel and presented him at the temple. Hannah said, “Now I give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”
1 Samuel 1:24-28

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I love to play tennis. One time I played a really good player. He hits shots that I never have come close to encountering in an opponent before. You might say my experience was a close encounter of a very good tennis player kind (smiles). This player went to a Division 1 major college on a full-ride. Besides being gifted athletically, what was the reason for his level of success? Dedication. He told me about how year after year he would practice tennis four to six hours a day. Through his dedication he became a very good tennis player who performed at a high level.

You and me as Christians want to perform at a very high level. We want to be like Jesus who is full of grace, love, goodness and salvation. But in order to get there we must be dedicated to the person of Jesus Christ!

In our scripture for today we learn how Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord. My mind, upon reading this, went right to my own mother. When my dad asked my mom to marry him within three weeks of meeting her (Yes, I do not recommend proposing after 3 weeks of meeting someone!), my mom replied, “Let me do a novena for nine days and then I will tell you my answer.” Obviously and thankfully, my mom said, “Yes.” But, she only said “Yes” after she sought out what God wanted her to do. An amazing story, right? I just think of her dedication to God from the get-go. Always trying to follow God and dedicate her life, her husband and her family to God and his will for us all. We absolutely needed God because marriage and family life is not easy and will only work with oceans of grace. I really do not think I would be alive today (I am the youngest of 8 boys) or serving as a priest if it was not for my mother’s ferocious dedication to God. She brought my dad and all of us to the heart of God. It would have all fallen apart before I came to be as John Matthew if my mom was not so dedicated to Jesus.

Even though we might have the dedication, not many of us can be Division 1 tennis players because we do not have the talent for it. But what we all do have the talent for is to be a great Christian. The question, then, becomes one of dedication. If we are not dedicated to pray each day then we will not pray each day. If we are not dedicated to serving the poor, then the poor will not be served by us. If we do not dedicate going to church as much as possible then it will fall by the wayside. The question is, “What could be more important than being dedicated to Jesus in prayer and the church so as to take him to the world?”

Imagine the tennis player practicing 4-6 hours a day for years practicing tennis. Now imagine if we spent 4-6 hours a day for years getting to know Jesus. Think about that ROI-return on investment.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E (how much time do you give God, how much do you love him?),
Fr. John

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent Dec. 21st

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
December 21, 2006


“Our soul waits for the Lord.”
Psalm 33:20

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I had my plans. I knew what I was going to do. I had it figured out. The only major problem was, and it is the most major problem of all, that Jesus was not a part of it. There were way too many “I’s” in what I was planning on doing with my time here on our mortal coil. I was not waiting on Jesus. He was waiting on me- consigned to my whims and desires. One way I like to visualize the way my mode of operendus truly was is that I left Jesus behind in the dust.

Waiting. We are a few days away from Christmas. Remember growing up? We could not wait to see the all the presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Adrenaline, joy and excitement pumped through our body leading up to the time we would gather to open our gifts. We were so excited to find out if we got what we wanted and what surprises there might be.

Waiting. It is not our forte. Driving this morning there was one car in front of me on a red left turn signal. I needed to get to the office as soon as possible because there were a ton of things on my plate to get done as usual (isn’t that the way it always is in our over-booked society?). The light turned green, the car in front of me did not move, I began to get frustrated but I did wait for two whole seconds before I honked my horn! I knew it was going to be a short light and I did not want to miss my turn and have to wait again.

As a pastor I want to teach my people to wait on the Lord. To be quiet and still in prayer and wait on the Lord is not a forte of us Westerners. I have tried to instill that before mass for about 10 minutes but we have tended back to talking to and waiting on each other during that time. That is always a quandary for me because I want people to greet each other “with a holy kiss” as St. Paul would say but I, more importantly, want my people to learn to wait on the Lord. As a congregation it seems like we can stand about 15-20 seconds of silence after communion and then people start rumbling, shuffling and fidgeting. Waiting is not our forte.

Waiting in silence before the Lord is the only way we are going to turn thing around. His plans and thoughts are above our plans and thoughts; his ways are above our ways. He is the way and truth that leads to life that never ends. To wait on Jesus as the way and truth leading to life is the antidote to all the ruin around us. He will show us the way above all other ways.

What if we got as excited about waiting daily on Jesus as we did for opening our Christmas presents growing up? Let us wait and take a long look at this statement. Christmas presents are here today and gone tomorrow but the way of the Lord is overflowing life forever. Not much of a choice, is there?

Wait on the Lord.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent Dec. 20th

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
December 20, 2006


“Hail (Mary), full of grace.”
Luke 1:28

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Imagine you are in your house. Mary, the mother of God and our mother, walks in and sits down. How awesome would that be to be in her presence? What would you do? How would you respond? Would not we want to know what she knows, to see what she sees, to think what she thinks? We would want to be in total union with what she is experiencing.

Mary, full of grace! Mary, full of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. Mary, full of the source of all the salvation and love and joy for every human being that has lived and ever will live. Mary, the creation we all want to be most like.

Mary could have said “no” to God and rejected being full of grace. Thankfully, she said “Yes”. But isn’t it incredible that we have the gift and responsibility to say to say “yes” or “no” to the grace of Christ. It is so astonishing that God would be self-limited by his own creation. In other words, our acceptance of God’s grace determines the goodness of God that can come through us.

Like no other, Mary resounded with the grace and light of God. What do people see when they see you and me? When we walk into someone else’s house do others want to draw near to us? Do they want to be in union with what we are in union with?

St. Augustine taught, “God made us without our permission but will not save us without our consent.” How much consent have we given to the grace of Jesus in our lives?

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Dec. 19th

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
December 19, 2006


“He (John the Baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.”
Luke 1:16

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A few days ago I once again invited my whole congregation to come to our Advent Reconciliation Service. It is a time for us as a community to receive the infinite mercy of Jesus in the sacrament of confession/Reconciliation and be set free in love. I told everyone who is coming that I have a special going for that day. I said, “Boy, have I got a deal for you. For only five dollars you can have all you sins taken away! Isn’t that great? How could you beat that? Just five dollars to get rid of all your shame and guilt and be set free!” The people just laughed because we all know that salvation from our sins is a gift, it is free! What an exchange- we give Jesus our sins and he gives us eternal life.

I want to share with you two different stories to highlight what we are faced with in the human condition. As I always say, it is all about HOW we are going through life. Are we going through life confident and free in God’s love or are we being crushed under the weight of our own offence?

I few years back I was hearing reconciliations at a Catholic high school. It was awesome as I spent two days solid hearing kids confess and seeing them literally transformed before my eyes in the freedom of God’s love. At the end of a person’s confession I offer the absolution of Jesus. Absolution means absolute, total forgiveness is found in Jesus. Well, one girl I prayed over for this had a few tears in her eyes when I was done offering absolution. She said, “Thank you,”, and then walked out of the chapel. She went to the campus minister who asked her how her experience was and she replied, “That was the most loving experience in my life!” Wow!

The second story. Through the Legion of Mary, our parish has begun to reach out to every house in our parish boundary. Our goal is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with every household that is under our geographical limits. We figure we have about 12,000 doors to knock on. Well, on the first day we came across a woman who felt she was going to go to hell because her past was just too bad and sinful. She was living in the tyranny and slavery of a life without Jesus and his forgiveness. So many go through life in this way. Mind you, this was just the first day of our outreach efforts. How many more people are there?

Our scripture today says that John the Baptist will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. Well, I am another John, Fr. John, some 2,000 years later asking you to turn to the Lord. HOW are you going through life? Are you living in the tyranny and slavery of sin or are you free in the mercy of Christ?

We all have the chance and choice to make our lives the “most loving experience.” There will probably be about 250 people that come to our Advent reconciliation service which is around 20% of our weekend mass attendance. It seems like 100% of us would want to know “the most loving experience.”

So, what about you? Christ waits for you in the priest. He waits to give you, “the most loving experience.”

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Monday of the Third Week of Advent Dec. 18

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

December 18, 2006

“Joseph was a righteous man.”

Matthew 1:20

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Are you are person of your word?

Think of the Holy Scriptures. If we truly believe they are The Word of God leading us home to heaven, do we follow their commands and demands? For example, do we love money and what it affords which Jesus says is the root of all evil. Does our current war point to that end? How are we doing with praying constantly and really making the Sabbath holy? What about Jesus’ scathing challenge to the Pharisee’s, “You hypocrites and blind guides. You wash the outside of the cup but you do not clean the inside.” Is our life just an external show or are we honestly trying to become more like Christ from the inside out? Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Do we? What if we do say we love Christ above all other things and we only give Christ an hour a week? Isn’t that a lie? Remember how Jesus asks us to pray for our enemy’s and forgive each other fully (70x7 times). Do you? Are you are person of the word to all the commands and demands of The Holy Scriptures?

When we go to church we say “Amen” which means, “Yes. So be it. I will live what I say yes to!” Well, we have got to know what we are saying yes to! We are living our life as a living sacrifice in order to glorify The Lord. The epitome of this is captured when we receive the Eucharist. As we come forth in the communion line to receive The Body and Blood of Jesus, We hear the words, “The Body of Christ. The Blood of Christ.” And we reply, “Amen.” In our “Amen”, we are saying back to Jesus, “This is my body given up for you. I am saying “Yes” to you Jesus and I will live for you with all I got!

In my nearly ten years of priesthood, I have had about two-hundred weddings. Always, a very profound time is when the couple exchanges their vows. They are giving their word to God and the whole world that they are going to be true to each other come hell or high water. They are totally giving themselves in sacrifice to each other for the rest of their lives. I know there is a lot of pain around marriages and why they do not work out at a high rate, but there is not too much more of a beautiful portrait of God’s love in this life when you see a couple holding hands who has been married fifty, sixty or seventy years.

I love the quote, “God loves you right where you are at. But he loves you so much that he doesn’t want you to stay there.” Yes, you are loved right where you are at. Whether your marriage worked out or it did not, whether your plans came to be or not, you are loved right where you are at. But, God loves you so much that he has more for you!!! And where do we find that more? In following his commands and demands. Of course, in order to follow them you need to hunt them down and capture them in your heart! Do this!

I always say that there is nothing more beautiful than when a believer believes. How beautiful are you? Be a person who keeps your word to Christ.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

The Third Sunday of Advent Dec. 17th

Third Sunday of Advent
December 17, 2006


“Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”
Phil. 4:4

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We are preparing to celebrate Jesus’ Birthday December 25th. Here on earth we celebrate each others birthdays on the day we were physically born. While it is wonderful to celebrate our physical birth, the church has us focus more on the greatest birth anyone of us can have. That birth is our spiritual birth and it comes when we die. So, when we celebrate the life of a particular saint, we do not celebrate the day they were born but the day they died. Why? Because it is in dying that we can be born into the infinite celebration of life that we have always been looking for but could not find here in this valley of tears.

Think of what the person who does not know God and the afterlife runs from. It is death. The clock is ticking and everything is going to be over in a few, short years. How unsettling this thought must be. St. Paul says that we are the most pitiable of all people if our hopes are limited to this life. The one who lives in union with Christ, on the other hand, runs to it. For the Christian, death is just a door to the home of eternal life that she or he has always wanted to get to.

St. Paul gives us this injunction, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice.” As we look to fulfill this command of always rejoicing in this world, let us start with the end. Death, which can be the saddest time for various reasons, can be turned into our greatest time of rejoicing. Remember, it is in dying that we are born into eternal life. When I die, have a big party to celebrate our call to heaven. Have lots of food, fun, music and dancing. Rejoice that the savior is taking another one of his children to himself! At the funeral, rejoice by proclaiming how our Great Jesus loved and saved a sinner like me.

If, then, our saddest time in life can be turned into the greatest time of rejoicing, then let us turn all the sad and all of everything into rejoicing. So, you broke your leg. Rejoice that you have a leg! Your spouse or someone betrayed you. Rejoice that Jesus will never betray you. Someone has discounted, disrespected, made light of you. Rejoice that Jesus counts you more than all the riches and beauty of the world as he dies for YOU on the cross. Rejoice at the next breathe you take because it means you are alive and you have an invitation from Christ, delivered by the Holy Spirit, to live forever.

Rejoice, rejoice, and rejoice in everything, all the time. See Jesus in it, raising us all up to the joy of heaven.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 16th

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
December 16, 2006


“In those days, like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace.”
Sirach 48:1

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The single leading cause in atheism in the world today is Christians who profess Christ with their lips and walk out of the door and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Are you believable? Are you a fire burning in the dark? Are people hungering to know the light and warmth you emit? Is Christ on fire in you? Muriac said that when we no longer burn with love many will die of the cold. What would the world be like if we all burned with God’s love?

Are you believable? St. Catherine of Siena said, “When we are what we are supposed to be the whole world will be ABLAZE!" It sounds like Elijah was ablaze with fire. Do you think he got there by accident?

We do not accidentally become fire for God. Rather, we decide for it; we choose it; we plan it. It is not happenchance, luck or circumstance when we see someone like Elijah on fire with God. It is a whole life, including daily prayer that shouts out to God, “I need your fire. I have no light or warmth without you but with you I can shine more brightly than the sun. Fire me in your love. I don’t just want to think or philosophize or theologize about your fire. I want to become your fire!”

Being believable means being on fire. It means being irresistible because you are so full of light and warmth. It means moving from being a minimalist in your faith by just going to church every Sunday and confession once a year to an all out effort with all our hearts, minds and bodies to know fire.

Be fire and set the whole world ABLAZE!

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Friday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 15th

Friday of the Second Week of Advent
December 15, 2006


“I the Lord, your God, lead you on the way you should go.”
Isaiah 48:14

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When I was four years old my dad was putting up a string around our garden. He asked me if I knew why he putting up the string and I told him, “No.” He said, “I am putting up the string so little kids like you won’t run into the garden.” Always try to get around things, I replied, “Little kids can jump over that string.”

Of course, the string was strung around the border of the garden to keep people from walking or running on it thus destroying the growing vegetation. Hence there was a purpose to the string. I suppose, you could say, that there was a string attached to doing what my dad was doing. In a small way, my dad was leading me in the way to go.

Is there ever no string attached to what we say, think or do? Is it possible to have thinking, words or actions that are simply neutral, neither for the good nor the bad?

Whether we assent to it or not, we have been given an incredible responsibility if we call ourselves Christian and proclaim that we know and love Christ. We do believe that there is a string attached to what we think, say and do. We do believe that there is “a way to go.” And we know that we have a ways to go in totally understanding “the way to go.”

Knowing that there is no such thing as “no strings attached” and knowing that there is “a way to go”, let us come before God and others in utter humility to learn about God’s way.

Let us pray: “Lord Jesus, teach me that there are strings attached and there is ‘a way to go.’ Help me to see that what I do leads to either good or bad. Teach me your way and give me the grace to always live it. I want to think and act and speak as you think, act and speak. Thank you for fullness of life and joy I will have when I follow your way. Amen.”

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 14

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

December 14, 2006

“Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord.”

Psalm 145:10

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Recently I heard about one pastor who challenged his congregation to go one month without complaining. Could you and I do that? Could we go a day without complaining? God wants us to go for eternity without complaining so it seems we need to move in that direction. What are all those who live in heaven doing all the time? They are praising God. There is no room for complaining.

I remember one marriage therapist who stated that he could pretty accurately predict whether a marriage was going to make it or not within 15-20 minutes of meeting a couple. It was all about the positive or negative messages the spouses were communicating to each other. If the negative messages far outweighed the positive ones that was a strong indicator that the marriage would break down. Is it more about giving thanks to your spouse or complaining to your spouse?

Now, let us transfer the marriage study to our relationships in general. What are the ratio of positive messages to negatives messages that we are sending to our spouses, kids, friends and all people around us? Specifically, how does complaining enhance the life of God in others and us? What do you communicate with your life- thanksgiving or complaining? Are you someone you would want to be around?

How can we move from complaining to thanksgiving? I think it is important to name the fact that we complain and then actively seek to rid it from our lives. Maybe grab an accountability partner to check up on you each week and see how you are doing with your complaining. How about reviewing your day before you go to sleep at night to see how much complaining verses thanksgiving you have done during the day. And try verbalizing thanksgiving in place of complaining every time you are tempted to complain.

What about prayer and our connection to Jesus? What does all of our complaining tell us about how united we are to the Lord? It seems to me that if we were truly united with the Lord, truly present with Jesus, it would be impossible to complain.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 13

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

December 13, 2006

“Jesus said to the crowds, ‘My yoke is easy.’”

Matthew 11:30

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In his dictionary, Mr. Webster says a “yoke” is a wooden frame or bar with loops or bows at either end, fitted around a pair of oxen, etc. for harnessing them together. It is a pair of animals harnessed together. A yoke is something that unites, binds and or connects. It is also any mark or symbol of subjection, bondage or servitude.



We yoke! We yoke or bind or harness ourselves to people, things, etc. Are our yokes wise? Are they leading to the results we want?



Don’t make a joke of the yoke you yoke

Like takin a toke from the smoke you smoke

U breathin it in

And servin its wind

Is it love or sin

That u got you in?



Don’t make a joke of the yoke you yoke



I was just moved to write the above seven lines in rhyme/rap form. The point of it is that yoking is like breathing in smoke from tokin and this smoke can be love or sin that we breathe in and end up serving with our lives. Are we choosing to bind ourselves to God and his goodness or are we harnessing ourselves to something, which always leaves us empty handed?



In 2 Cor. 6:14 we read, “Do not be yoked with unbelievers.” It often baffles me when I see the friends or spouses people choose. It is not uncommon for a couple to come to me wanting to get married where one person has faith and the other is an unbeliever. These two people are going to bind, harness, yoke themselves to each other with having, in the big picture, very little in common. If one person is seeking to love and glorify God and the other could care less about doing that, there is going to be trouble in river city. How will you be inextricably bound to serving each other in the sacrament of marriage if both spouses do not have God in their lives? And this type of questioning should be asked of all the friendships we choose to yoke ourselves to.



You yoke! Are you smart about who or what you have yoked yourself to?



Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 12th

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
December 12, 2006


“Now of salvation and power come.”
Rev. 11:10

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He died about seven or eight years ago. There is a good chance that he may have touched your life but that you might not know the story of how that came to be.

He was driving though his home state of Indiana on a late summer evening. The sun was setting over the farmland and he stopped by a restaurant to get a meal he really enjoyed. After getting back on the road with his Big Mac, fries and coke, he really began to experience the presence of God. In a state where he had many fond memories and friends, the beauty of the sunset over the fields, the great meal of a Big Mac, he began to think about how good God is. “God, you are great and wonderful and all-giving. You are awesome.” So moved by the presence of God, he began to cry and had to pull over to the side of the road. And on the side of the road in just a few minutes he wrote a song on the McDonald’s bag that has touched millions and millions of lives. I am sure it is one of the most loved Christian contemporary songs ever. Maybe you have been touched by it? The song? “Awesome God” by Rich Mullins.

This time every year in the church we read about the end of the world, the second coming of Jesus. Words and images like tribulation, distress, stars falling out of the sky and the moon turning black, the earth shaking, come to us in scriptures read at mass. To be honest, my reaction to all of this is to say, “Big deal! Why be so worried? Why be afraid? Jesus is going to come when Jesus is going to come. The point is is to be ready! Are we ready? If we are, Jesus will take care of it all.”

Sometimes we try to live in the past with going back to the hurts or the fond memories we have there. But Jesus is not there. Or we may try to live in the future trying to figure out what our job will be, what will be happening ten years from now or when will be the exact time of Jesus’ second coming. But Jesus is not there either. The only place Jesus is is in the present. So many times we are not present to his presence in the present. The only time Jesus can come to you and me is now! “NOW have salvation and power come.”

Let us be inspired by the life of Rich Mullins. He was just so present to Jesus in the NOW. Practice the presence of God in the NOW because that is the only place we can experience him. May we all have the grace to be so connected to Jesus in the NOW that we would have to pull over our cars because God’s love moved us so much that it was unsafe to drive with all the tears streaming out of our eyes.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E
Fr. John

Monday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 11

Monday of the Second Week of Advent
December 11, 2006
“They glorified God”
Luke 5:26

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What is our job in life? Glorify God!

In 1944, GR Tweed was a prisoner of war on the island of Guam. Not knowing if he would ever be saved, one day he used a mirror to send out an SOS signal to a US ship. The ship picked it up and came to his rescue.

The mirror worked! It was simply just being what it was supposed to be. It reflected the sun and saved GR Tweed’s life. By analogy, our lives should be mirrors. We are to reflect the eternal weight of the Son’s glory and light. In Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells us, “Let your light shine before all so that they may see the goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father” (Mt. 5:16). Paul teaches us, “Whatever you do- you should do all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)

What if, when someone asked how we are doing, we responded something like this, “I am living in God’s Glory. His mercy is bigger than the air I breathe. His love is more than I can ask or imagine. He is the Lamb of God who died to take away every sin of every person for all of time. His deepest heart’s desire is that we would live in unspeakable joy forever. And that JOY starts

RIGHT NOW because he has sacrificed his life for us so that we might have heaven-all the way to heaven.”

What if we answered something like the above when people asked us how we are doing? I think our light would be shining and God would be glorified a lot more than he is now.

But there is a difference between the mirror JR Tweed used to reflect the light and us. The mirror had to reflect the light because it could not act differently. But you and I have the choice to reflect the light or not. You can let Jesus in and out so that all may praise the Father or you can say, “No Trespassing.”

Let your light shine. Glorify God. Let Jesus in and out and in and out. Speak and live the eternally flowing mercy and love and forgiveness and joy of Jesus. Praise our heavenly Father that we can have heaven-all the way to heaven.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Sunday of the Second Week of Advent Dec. 10

Sunday of the Second Week of Advent
December 10th, 2006
"The rough ways made smooth"
Luke 3:6

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Do we make the rough ways in our lives truly smooth or do we just smooth over the rough ways? In other words, do we honestly come before God with our problems and give him full permission to heal and make us whole or do we not deal with what is truly going on and just try to smooth things over without divine help?



Growing up there was a ditty we used to chant, “Ring around the rosy. Pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes, all fall down!” There is a dark meaning to this rather cheery tune and game. It is about the Black Death of the fourteenth century. The sign of this horrible disease was a black ring rash around a red spot. Hence, “Ring around the rosy.” People would carry flowers that would act as a fragrance to fight against the terrible stench of death and decaying bodies and so we have the line, ‘”Pocket full of posies.” “Ashes, ashes, all fall down” refers to that fact that the Black Death wiped out one-fourth of the population of Europe. It was a horrible time as every family had a death. “Ring around the Rosy” was a chant and game that was used to smooth over by covering up the roughness of the Black Death.



But Christianity is about facing the rough ways, feeling them, and inviting God into them to give us healing and wholeness. In direct opposition to the intent of “Ring around the Rosy”, Christianity is not about smoothing things over by covering them up. No, it is about total exposure and honesty with all that is rough in our lives. We know that we have to suffer and die before we go to heaven. The ideal we should push each other towards is to come before the Lord and say, “Here is all my roughness. Please make is smooth.”



There is an interesting physiological fact about our tear ducts. Crying helps to cleanse them and we can actually see better after we have cried than before. This analogy can be applied to our relationship with God. We can see better after we have cried with him over all the rough ways in our lives. Sisters and brothers, we need to learn how to cry!



Have you made the rough ways truly smooth by inviting the Lord into it all or have you just tried to smooth over the rough ways by covering them up and not dealing with them?



Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Dec. 9th

Saturday of the First Week of Advent

December 9, 2006

“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages.”
Matthew 9:35

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There are number of people who say they follow Christ who also say they just do not do it. Maybe they do not see it as a demand from Christ or they simply do not know in their hearts the most incredible knowing ever known. Whatever the reason why someone does not take every opportunity to do it, let the excuses cease right now! Pope Paul IV says that it is the reason we exist as a people and a church. Christ demands it of us. As a matter of fact, Christ is it! What is the “it” I am referring to? Evangelization. Evangelization is sharing with others the most incredible, loving and eternally life-giving news ever- Jesus Christ!

Why is it we can go crazy and yell and scream at some sporting event and be silent about Jesus? Why is it that we are not talking about any teams or sporting scores from 2,000 years ago but that we have based all of history on the life of the man-God, Jesus Christ? What does anything we go crazy over, including sports, have to do with eternity and what does Jesus have to do with eternity? Why is there so much anger when we do not win at sports, business, life and we keep on insisting going there when the only thing Jesus offers us in it all is joy and healing love? Why do we keep throwing ourselves into mortal news when we could throw ourselves into the Good News of Jesus Christ who is everlasting life?

Jesus Christ went from town to town, from village to village to share the Good News. He did not only share it with all, he was it! Yes, Jesus Christ is the Good News every soul is desperate for! In him, we are loved, blessed, forgiven! Why are we silent? Cease with this crime. Stop killing others by letting them die without knowing the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, keep the faith- but not to yourself!

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Friday of the First Week of Advent

Friday of the First Week of Advent

December 8, 2006

“The woman answered, ‘The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”
Genesis 3:13

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Duped by the deceiver. Sucker-punched by Satan. Falsehood flowing forever from the father of lies. Destroyed by the devil. The trickster who only knows how to trick.

The Devil offers what we crave for but never delivers. All his promises are empty. Have you ever been tricked into believing otherwise? Our scripture verse today is about the first sin. Those who commit the original sin are tricked by the trickster who offers all and never gives anything. Adam and Eve, duped by the deceiver, basically choose themselves over God. They choose their way for happiness and fulfillment. Their choice to be without God is their own demise. To be without God means to die.

When we fall for the trick of the trickster, we sin. To sin means to separate ourselves from the God of life. One way to remember what sin is to note who is in the middle of it- I! “I” is in the middle of the word “sin”. If “I” am the middle, if my life is all about me and “I” am the center and purpose of it all, then I will surely perish being disconnected from the God of life.

What is the antidote to being tricked into believing that “I” am the center of it all and thus sinning and dying? Trust! It is about putting “U”, Lord, as the center of my life just like “u” is in the middle of the word “trust”. As I make my life all about “U” Lord, by fully trusting in you, you will lead me in the way of everlasting life.

“Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

Will I continue to sin by putting “I’ in the middle and die or will I put “U” in the middle, Lord, and live?

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Dec. 7th

Thursday of the First Week of Advent
December 7, 2006

“On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: A strong city have we.”

Isaiah 26:1

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At one point in the Gospels people were questioning Jesus about his power and he replied, “You would have no power unless it were given to you from above.” True, so true. In one of his letters, St. Paul challenges his hearers to name something they have not received. Yes, any power or strength we have for anything is given to us from the hand of God.

Funerals highlight how powerless we really are. I mean, in one hundred years from now you and I are going to be dead physically. So, what power do we have on our own? Ultimately, the only power we have on our own is to die. Thus, why would anyone not make Christ the most important person to seek out in life?

In this Holy Season of Advent, we prepare for the coming birth of Jesus into our broken, tear-filled world. Jesus leaves the perfect strength of heaven and vulnerably subjects himself to the weakness, sufferings and onslaughts of the world. What amazing love that Jesus would trade heaven for crucifixion on a cross.

If we look at Jesus’ life, he models for us what true strength is all about. As Jesus is misunderstood, rejected and suffers and dies, he shows us that his strength is not in his own power but comes from the might of God. He trusts in God the Father and the Father is his portion and strength forever.

As human beings, we are weak and short-lived. We are here today and gone tomorrow. But the Good News is that we throw all our weakness, suffering and, ultimately, our death into Jesus and he gives us eternal life. Talk about strength!

You would have no power whatsoever unless it were given to you from above.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

Wednseday the First Week Of Advent Dec. 6th

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

December 6, 2006

“On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples.”

Isaiah 25:7

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A priest was preaching on the parable of the wedding banquet and the urgency of responding to God now because tomorrow might be too late. During the middle of his homily a man got up and walked out of church. No knowing exactly why the man left church, the priest received a phone call from him the next day. He explained that he left the church because he was moved by the priest’s challenge to act today. Twelve years ago he and his brother had gotten in a fight and had not spoken to each other since. There was a canyon of alienation and bitterness between them. Inspired to make things right, he left the church during the middle of the homily and hurried to find the nearest pay phone. He called his brother and they got together and forgave each other.

We all want to see God but many of us complain that we can’t see him in our world. Some of our excuses might be that there is too much suffering, fear, bad things happening to good people to see anything of God in it all. Well, if you want to know what God looks like, if you want to see behind the veil, look at two brothers who have forgiven each other after twelve years of hatred and you will see God.

So much of our ability to see God in our world depends on what we are looking for. Sure, if we just focus on the darkness, suffering and all the bad things going on, God will seem veiled to us. On the other hand, if we just focus on seeing the goodness of God in our days, we can pull back the veil and see him.

Jesus came to earth to unveil God. Anytime you see brothers forgiving each other after twelve years of hatred and alienation, couples married for fifty years, a youth serving an elderly person, a parent up in the middle of the night with their sick baby- you can count that as seeing Jesus.

Jesus is everywhere- all the time. Unveil him.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

Tuesday The First Week of Advent Dec. 5th

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
December 5, 2006

“In him all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.”
Psalm 72:17

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One day while walking through my favorite store, the dollar store (the dollar store is my favorite store because you can get everything for $1), I said, “Hi”, to a man and he greeted me back. Then, his next response literally stopped me in my tracks. I asked him how he was doing and he replied, “Blessed.” I thought, “What an awesome, true and invigorating answer.” We are so blessed. I asked the man if he had a copyright on that answer and if I could use it. He just chuckled and told me to use it.

So, I have been teaching that when someone asks us how we are doing we can say, “Blessed.” Yes, we are so blessed! Just count your blessings. You have eyes, eyesight, and you are reading this now. You just took another breath. This day alone you will have at least 100,000 reasons to say you are blessed because that is how many times your heart will beat. We were created by God who loves us with an everlasting love! We know that God is good- all the time! We are forgiven and beautiful in his sight. Jesus died for us so that we could go to heaven. God invites us to live with him forever. Yes, we are so blessed! Count and count and count your blessings.

Many of you have shared with me how you have stopped other people in their tracks when they have asked you, “How are you doing?” You have told them, “Blessed.” Why does saying we are blessed stop people in their tracks? Because that response causes all of us to go to the source of every single blessing in our lives. When we tell others we are blessed, we are pointing our lives to the source of all blessing--God. Yes, we are blessed because we are beautiful, loved, forgiven, and invited to live with God forever. Could we possibly be more blessed than that? No! Please continue to let others know how blessed we ALL are.

My dad has Alzheimer’s disease. He is losing his ability to remember things. He is a bright man and has always been a creative thinker. As you can imagine, it can be frustrating to lose your mind when you have used it so well and creatively. He shared the following touching story with me. Going to sleep at night is difficult for him because his thoughts were so jumbled and confusing. Dad would get frustrated so he decided to seek peace in his heart by praying the rosary. But he said to me, “I tried to pray the rosary, John, but I cannot remember all of the words of the Hail Mary. So now I just keep repeating, ‘Thank you, Jesus’ until I fall asleep. It works.”

The words that dad wants on his tombstone are, “Thank you, Jesus.” My dad is a blessed man.

How are you doing?

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,
Fr. John

First Monday of Advent Dec. 4th

Monday of the First Week of Advent

December 4, 2006

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:7

I was teaching a Confirmation class and a kid kept asking me, “What is the word?”He was referring to the above scripture, which is what Catholics pray in the mass right before receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist (see John 6).The context is that Jesus had told the centurion that he would come to heal his servant and the faith-filled centurion replied by asking Jesus to just say the word right there without coming to the house and his servant would be healed. So, how would you answer the kid’s question, “What is the word?”Would it be something like “Be healed”, “Suffering cease”? We do not know exactly what “the word” was and that is not the point.The point is throwing ourselves into Jesus and acting like he has the power that he says he has. The centurion inspires us to believe that Jesus has the power to do anything.

We do know that Jesus wants to heal our hearts. Do you believe in the power of his word working healing in you? He may not ever heal us physically but he is going to give us the healing that will last forever if only we would believe.Can our prayer become more like, “Only say the word, Jesus, and I, your servant, will be healed?”

The centurion brings up a point about not being worthy to have Jesus under his roof. Maybe we feel that we would never be worthy to receive Jesus into our home, our heart, our life. It is true. On our own merits, we will never be worthy of Jesus. But the reality is that Jesus has made us worthy. He has come to teach, heal, befriend, love, suffer, die and rise for us and in this he makes us worthy! We just say yes to Jesus and jump into him to be healed in the power of his word.

Jesus, only say the word and I, your servant, shall be healed.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E,

Fr. John

First Sunday of Advent Dec. 3rd

“Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and all.”

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Welcome as we journey together to be with The Holy Family at the birth of our Savior! Thank you for joining hands as we seek the Advent/“Coming” of the Lord. My hope and prayer and utmost desire (which is nothing compared to the Lord’s) is that you may find what you are looking for this Holy Advent Season.

This time is a time for decision. What are you looking for and how are you going to find it? We must be very conscious about articulating what the desires of our hearts are and how we are going to honor those desires.

Many of us in this crazed and hyper-busy society suffer greatly from a lack of friendship, community, love, and peace. A high school boy was asked to write an essay on the happiest time in his life. He said his happiest time happened when he went out to dinner with his father and they spent three hours together just talking and sharing that time. Sadly, that experience of the three hours with his dad had happened only once in his life.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E. It is about being with one another and sharing what we have to share. St. Paul wants our love to increase and abound for one another. Is it? To what do we give our time?

If love is spelled T-I-M-E, then let us ask a revealing question. In this past week, how much did you love Jesus? How much time did you give to Jesus alone so that he could share with you and you with him? If we say we are Christians and that we love and follow Christ but we do not give him time that is absurd.

As families, do we love Jesus? Do we give him T-I-M-E? If you want love to increase and about in your family, pray together each day!!!! And then watch miracle after miracle after miracle happen. And write and tell me about them and our love in God will more and more increase and abound- all the way to heaven!

This Advent I am choosing to sign each reflection with “Love is spelled T-I-M-E.” This season is all about the fact that LOVE has come to show the way. And the way is LOVE. And we must decide to spend time sharing with the source of all love. Honor the desires of your heart by knowing what you are looking for and how you are going to find it.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E.

+Fr. John