"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." "He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God."

Our first readings during these last few days of Christmas have all come from the 1st book of John. In my own prayer over the readings I've noticed a theme of "God's ways are not our ways." I feel like we usually say this little mantra when we're struggling to understand why God is doing something that feels like it hurts or He's not answering a prayer in the way we desire. 

In our first reading today, St. John helps us to understand how we can more fully realize God’s divine love when he says: “The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep His commandments…whoever keeps His word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.”

A friend of mine told me a story about his little boy, Sam. While he takes his afternoon nap, my friend listens to the baby monitor so he knows when Sam wakes up. My friend said that every day for several weeks now, Sam wakes up by himself and says “Wow”. He doesn’t have a very big vocabulary yet but my friend said that Sam only uses the word “Wow” when something really special happens. Since he is in such a good mood after his nap, my friend thinks that “Wow” is Sam’s way of telling the world he is happy to be alive.

We have no idea how much God loves us. 

It's the year of St. Joseph!!! 10 days ago, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis dedicated this entire year to St. Joseph to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as the patron of the universal Church. Yes!

It's everyone's favorite Gospel reading of the year! The reading of the genealogy of Jesus. It's like something we read out of obligation every year. I'm sure the priest especially looks with dread on that reading as he stumbles through these obscure names with difficult pronunciations. But what does it mean?

If you were at the Cathedral this morning for mass, this reflection might sound familiar. It's very similar to Fr. Greg's homily this morning!

If you have been in a cow pasture or driven by a farm, you have probably seen “cow trails” marking the path to and from the barn. As the cows walk in single file and take the same route day after day, a pathway is worn into the ground over time. There are some theories explaining why cows behave this way but it interesting to think about the parallels in human behavior.

Motivation is a really important thing. Not the kind of motivation that gets you to the gym or helps you stay productive but rather the reasons that underpin our actions. Jesus is King of discerning the motivation of others. Consistently in the Gospels Jesus heals those with strong faith and rebukes those who are self-oriented. He does so with beautiful skill and respect.

"Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel." Yikes!

In today’s short Gospel passage, Jesus promises us something that sounds almost too good to be true.  We are labored and burdened by many things, work, homework, music and sports, there are so many things competing for our time.

In our Gospel today, the angel Gabriel calls Mary the “favored one”, literally, “one who has been graced”. By analyzing the language we know that Gabriel announced something that had already happened. Mary was already full of grace when Gabriel greets her…something that happened in the past with effects that continued throughout her life.

I think today's first reading and yesterday's are very similar. As I was praying with yesterday's reading from Isaiah 40, I was resisting the idea of valleys being filled in and mountains being made low. 

This Gospel always serves as a reality check for me... and I hope it does for you too.

As I continue to read A Severe Mercy, I continue to see the wolrd through the eyes of the author and his wife (and I continue to be late to work. Today only 5 minutes!). Today, I felt overcome by Jesus's compassion as I read the Gospel. I've read this Gospel countless times, but this morning something about it felt different. And I think I know why.