11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Imagine the scene 2000 years ago. Jesus the itinerant preacher of Nazareth is visiting our little town. For months we have heard the rumors, stories about miracles, how the crowds follow him, how they hang onto every word he says and how he preaches about God’s love and forgiveness. And tonight, Simon the Pharisee, one of the pillars of our community is throwing a big dinner in his honor! Everyone is here tonight!
Now let’s not forget this is no ordinary dinner. Pharisees are very careful about the people they allow into their homes; after all they have to be very conscientious about keeping their ritual purity, so they avoid contact with sinners, especially if the sinner is a woman. So by having Jesus over, and all the other outstanding men in our community, Simon is showing that there is some common ground between this Jesus and us.
The night has turned out to be wonderful affair. Our host is gracious, the food is exquisite, the guests are engaging and the conversation is invigorating. Simon has opened the doors so that the whole town can witness the event. All the important guest are sited at the table, while the town folk sits on the floor, stands against the walls or, look from the outside, through the windows. The servants have just cleared the table and everyone is getting ready to hear Jesus speak. Perhaps he will talk about the kingdom of God, perhaps he will entertain us with some of his wonderful stories, or perhaps he might even heal someone right in front of our own eyes! Everyone is expecting Jesus to do something truly memorable. When all of the sudden: SCANDAL! The last person we thought to see tonight is standing right next to Jesus! How could a woman enter into this banquet? Not only that, the town sinner! And she is anointing him with perfume! She is actually touching His feet! Everybody knows that the only woman allowed to touch a rabbi is his wife and only on certain times of the month! And now she is taking the tears that are running down her cheek and washing his feet! And drying them with her own hair!!
People are shocked, how can he allow this woman to touch him in such an intimate way? People are looking at Jesus as if he were a fraud, some are leaving, others are screaming. People are confused and angry, but among all this confusion and anger the figure of Jesus stands out like a beacon, to let us know how to deal with scandal in our lives.
Notice his approach: First he keeps a leveled head; he approaches the issue directly but discretely. He talks directly to his host “Simon, I have something to tell you” almost as an aside conversation between two friends. Second, he finds the root of the problem and derives a lesson from it. We see this clearly with the parable he communicated to his host.
Jesus shows Simon one of the great mysteries of the human condition. Those who love much are forgiven the most, but the ones to whom little is forgiven, love little. The more we love the more we are willing to forgive. When we are forgiven we have a chance to open ourselves to great love. Love and forgiveness go hand on hand. And most importantly the only way to deal with scandal is through love and forgiveness
This is a very important lesson my brothers and sisters, especially in times like ours in which our Church is been viciously attacked for the scandal caused by the sins of just a few. If you pick the newspapers or watch the news you would see that those persecuting the Church do not care about discretion or about deriving lessons from this scandal. By listening to then you would think that our church is filled with evil, depraved men that had never loved anyone but themselves and have never forgiven or asked for forgiveness. This attitude is not surprising this is the way the world always deals with its own scandals.
How are we to react to all this? To the irrationality, the persecution, the feeding frenzy attitude, the jokes, the innuendo and the plain lies about our priests, bishops and our Pope? The voice of our savior comes loud and clear in today’s gospel: with love and forgiveness. We have heard the words of the gospel “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you”. This is how we should answer to all this. The power of forgiveness comes from the capacity to love even those that are doing us wrong, and when we forgive them, we open ourselves to God’s own love and forgiveness.
Now I’m not saying that we should give a blind eye to the problems of the Church, but instead of getting depressed, angry or discouraged we should be as level headed as Jesus in today’s gospel and look for the root of our problems and derive the lesson in this scandal. I have thought long and hard about this and this is what I think: The root of our problems is that for far too long we Catholics have given the impression that our church is hotel for saints, but the reality is that the Church is hospital for sinners, and in this hospital we are all patients starting with me and ending with Benedict 16.
What we should do first then? Love and forgiveness; pray for those who persecute the Church, and pray for our leaders in the church. And then, remember that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness and that even in Her brokenness, the Church is the one place in which we can all find healing for our wounds, and that there is no scandal that can ever change that. Amen.

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Pentecost 2010

“Come Holy Spirit Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!”

My brothers and sisters today we are celebrating the great solemnity of Pentecost. In this day Catholics and others Christians celebrate the day in which God poured His Holy Spirit into the hearts of a band of scared fisherman and peasants, empowering them to boldly witness to the resurrection and by their preaching renew the face of the earth. What we might not realize is that today, there is another group of people celebrating. As a matter of fact they have been celebrating this day since they had their own encounter with the amazing power of God, way before Christians ever did. Of course I’m speaking of the Jewish people, which Fifty days after Passover celebrate the feast “Shavuot”.

I did a little bit of research about this feast and was struck by the connections between this ancient Jewish celebration and Pentecost. Let me share with you what I found. Christians believe that since the first Pentecost, every time the Spirit of God is poured into our hearts we receive the seven (Count them seven) gifts of the Holy Spirit which are wisdom, understanding, good judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence, and fear of offending God. Christians also believe that we are not supposed to keep these gifts for ourselves but that we are to return them to Him by living the Gospel message in our lives and preaching the good news wherever we go.

What do this has to do with the celebration of Shavout? Well… during this celebration the Jewish people hold a ceremony called “Bikkurim” which means “First Fruits”. This is not a well known ceremony these days (unlike the Passover) but it comes to us from the times of Moses. In the book of Deuteronomy, we read that God gave a new land to the people of Israel. We read that this land has been blessed with seven (count them seven) crops, crops for which this land is very fertile. He also commanded that on the day of Shavout (Fifty days after Passover) the first fruits of these seven crops, of these gifts given by God, were to be collected and offered back to Him in the temple. In the first Pentecost the men that were listening to the apostles and believed in their powerful message were in Jerusalem to offer their first fruits, instead they themselves became the first fruits of the Church.

But the story does not end there, why is Shavaut celebrated on the 50th day after the Jewish Passover and why use this day to give God the First Fruits? Because this day (The 6th day of the Jewish month of Sivan) is the day in which God gave the Torah (The 10 commandments and the law) to Moses in Mount Sinai. This is the day in which God’s own words were given to the Hebrews so that they would become a light for all the nations. This is the day in which God gave words that recreated a group of escaped slaves into the great Nation of Israel.

If you think about it my brothers and sisters, in this day in which these two great traditions celebrate Pentecost, we celebrate the same event; God giving his children a gift that will empower them, and His Children returning to him their first fruits.

Now there is one last comment I would like to make. Some people read today’s first reading and make the mistake of thinking that the gifts the apostles received in that first Pentecost somehow have been lost; I wish these people would have been here this morning or yesterday when 76 of our young people received the sacrament of confirmation. Ok perhaps, we did not get a strong wind, the tongues of fire and the speaking in tongues, but as someone that spend the last 9 months getting them ready for this day, I have to tell you, they would have seen 76 young adults filled with the spirit of God, eager to serve the church as ushers, lectors, Eucharistic, and music ministers. They would have seen the first fruits of a new generation of fully initiated Catholic Christians taking their rightful place in our community. A new generation ready to be recreated and eager to renew the face of the earth.

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Divine Mercy Sunday

At the end of today’s third reading St John’s tells us the reason why he wrote His gospel. He says that he has written all these things down so that we will believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that through this belief, we might have life. The reality is hat if we look at the reason why Our Lord became flesh, dwelled among us, suffered, died, was buried and on the third day rose again we will discovered that He did all this just so that we could have life.
Jesus is very specific when he says in the 10th chapter of this same Gospel: “I have come so that they may have life and they may have it abundantly”. But this abundant life is not the kind we see all around us in nature, especially in this time of spring. Jesus is talking about a supernatural state of existence. What St Paul’s describes in his letter to the Galatians when he says “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me”. What he is talking about is a spiritual state in which we are so close to God that his supernatural life and our natural life cannot be separated.
This supernatural state I’m talking about is our natural state of being. What I mean is that we, every man, woman and child that has ever walked over this green earth, was created to be in this state, in this special relationship with God. Sadly our first parents Adam and Eve were given an opportunity to preserve this supernatural life but at the end failed, and misused the freedom that comes from this state of being by disobeying God and committing the first sin which lost for them and us (their offspring) this special relationship with God. So from that moment on, it was not that we are born with evil in our hearts but that we are born spiritually defective. We are born without the capacity to acquire and maintain the state of grace we were created to have, we were born in a state we call “Original Sin”.
When the Lord says that he wants us to have abundant life he is telling us that he wants to restore in us this capacity to reconnect with God at the spiritual level. And the way he does this is by sharing His own divine life with us. Adam and Eve lost this for us, Our Lord Jesus gained this capacity back.
During the Easter Triduum last week we remembered Jesus sacrifice in the cross and throughout the Easter season we celebrate his resurrection which created bridge by which now we can receive this abundance life I’ve been talking about. Today, however is a very special Sunday… today we celebrate God’s Divine Mercy. The church has selected the First Sunday after Easter to make sure we are reminded that we do not deserve the life Jesus won for us in the cross. This was a gift given to humankind because of God’s infinite mercy and we cannot do anything to earned or deserve it.
Of course once we acquire this capacity by the waters of baptism our lives are not supposed to be like the lives of unbelievers. Our life is supposed to reflect the life of Christ which lives in us. Why? Because our Lord paid a very high price for us and it would be a great affront to God if we were to waist this gift. Now this statement begs the question from each one of us here today so…What am I supposed to do with this wonderful gift? The answer lies again in our Lord Jesus, he is the example we are supposed to follow. What did he do with his life? He gave it back as a perfect and pure sacrifice pleasing to His Father. We are supposed to take this supernatural state in which we encounter ourselves, because of our baptisms, and protect it so that we to can return it to him as a pure sacrifice of worship to God the Father.
How we protect this gift? Through the sacraments, especially the sacrament of reconciliation, which cleanses us from our sins and gives us the strength to deal with our own brokenness.
How do we return this gift to God? Well… In every mass there is a moment in which the priest raises the body and blood of our lord and repeats these words “Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever.” At this moment we all answer either by singing or saying “amen”. This is the moment in which we connect with Jesus offering of His own life in the cross. This moment my brothers and sisters is the culminating moment of the mass, this is the moment in which our voices join the voices of angels and saints, in the eternal worship of God in heaven. This is the moment in which heaven and earth touch. And this is the moment my brothers and sisters in which we should return to God the gift of life he has given us. This is the moment to raise to God our own lives with all its sins, weaknesses, problems, pains, and struggles, everything we have, everything God has given us that is good and bad to take all this and offer it all as a pure sacrifice of worship for His glory.
Our life, the life we have been given by God is not for us to keep, is for us to take and follow Jesus example and spread around wherever we go so that we can return it to God as a pure sacrifice of worship. It is in the mass in which we bring this offering to God, but it is where we are the rest of the time, in our homes, our schools and our jobs were we are supposed spread this gift we have been given. When we do this every moment of every day has the potential to become a pure sacrifice of worship for the glory of God the Father.
This is what Jesus did when he was alive; this is what Jesus wants us to do with His wonderful Easter gift, to spread His life into the world and to this abundantly.

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5ft Sunday of Lent

On first sight, you might think that today’ and last week’s Gospel (The parable of the prodigal son) are two very different readings. However as I was listening to Father Kurt last week it occurred to me that if you were to place these two readings side by side you will find some things in common. The most significant been that both these stories have the same three characters: God, a sinner, and an accuser, and in both of these stories the accusers make what any good lawyer will call “just demands”. In today’s reading, we see the scribes and Pharisees demanding a judgment from Jesus for a woman that was found in the act of committing a grave sin. In last week we read how the older son speaks to his father about how he feels treated unfairly because he has never asked Him for anything, but when his younger brother returns after wasting his inheritance the father showers him with Gifts.
In both of these stories both sinners’ and accusers stand in the presence of God waiting to hear judgment, and in both cases the most amazing thing happens. Unexpectantly and with complete disregard of the way we humans understand how justice is supposed to work, God ignores the accusers and forgives the sinners.
Now you might think that these two stories are just about the fact that God forgives the sinner. But the stories go beyond this; their main point is to present a God so loving and so eager to forgive sins that he will go out of his way not to condemn us for our sins. Look at today’s reading, when the accusers corner Jesus into bringing judgment by using the same law God Himself gave to Mosses. Jesus refuses to become a Judge and becomes the defense lawyer!! The story says that he bent down and began to write in the sand and “Starting with the eldest ones” he disposed of the accusers one by one. It is not until there was not one person to bring charges on the sinning woman that Jesus assumes the role of Judge. At this moment He delivers the one phrase every human being that has ever lived will give anything to hear God say when they stand in His presence: “I do not condemn you”.
It is not by accident that the Church in Her wisdom has placed these two readings right in the middle of lent; they are here to remind us about God’s incomprehensible desire to forgive our sins. But the Church does more than this, during this season it gives us an opportunity to reach God’s mercy, an opportunity to hear the voice of Jesus telling us, “I do not condemn you, Go, and from now on do not sin any more”
Now if I were to tell you that I know of a sure way in which you too could be lavished with gifts of grace from God, a sure way in which you too can hear the words of forgiveness that we all are so eager to hear, would you believe me? Every Wednesday during lent and every Saturday throughout the year before mass, right here in this same hall, God’s mercy is given for free to anyone that is willing to accept it.
I’m talking about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through the ministry of His Church and by the power given to the apostles we can all have our sins forgiven. Isn’t that great news my brothers and sisters??? The sad truth is that just a few of us take advantage of this opportunity. We have many reasons, some of us might have no time to come at these times, some of us might be too ashamed, some too fearful, some might think that the priest will somehow think less of us, some might have some type of temporary impediment like previous marriage or a marriage not consecrated by the church and decide they do not want to bother with such things. The sad reality is that these are not valid reasons they are just excuses. Because of them we end up behaving like the woman in today’s reading, we wait until external circumstances drag us to God in search of mercy, when we should follow the example of last week’s son that recognized his sins and admitted to God: “Father… I do not deserve to be called your child”. God’s forgiveness is available to us for free and we turn our backs to Him because we feel we can go one more week without having to look at our sins and failures, we can go one more week without experiencing his divine mercy.
I believe that the Church has placed these two readings in lent to remind us that there is no need to wait. God is waiting, eager, hungry for our repentance and ready to shower us with gift of grace and forgiveness. We just need to take the first step. I hope to see you here on Wednesday, 7:00PM.

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2nd Sunday of Lent

Wow… I can believe it has been 9 weeks since the last time I was up here! I don’t know if you remember but the last time I preached was… The day after Christmas! Back then I were getting ready for our mission trip to Jamaica, but most importantly… I didn’t have a beard! ... Would you believe that with all this time I had the hardest time preparing today’s homily?? It might have been, because I felt a bit rusty but I think the real reason is for this was because the transfiguration story is not one of the easiest readings to preach about. There is an almost dream like tone to this episode of the life of Jesus. The dazzling white clothing, the appearance of Moses and Elisha, the voice coming from a cloud are things we might see in a sci-fi movie but they are not things we can relate to our daily experiences.
Don’t get me wrong…all of these things I just mentioned have a deep significance to every Christian because they reveal to us the divine nature of Jesus. However the reality is that it is difficult to find a meaningful message that could be applied in our daily lives from a voice coming out of clouds. So it occurred to me that to find a practical meaning in these readings we have to look closely not to Jesus but the apostles. They were the ones that witnessed this event. They are the ones that can tell us what does the revelation of Jesus divine glory means to us.
Luckily, the reading is very explicit about their reactions. The Gospel tells us that, they were asleep and that when they saw His glory they became fully awake. Furthermore… You might think that when one is contemplating Jesus in all of His glory, one would just stand there in awe, but the apostle did something different, they sprang into action... They felt compelled to build tents for Jesus, Moses and Elisha.
I would venture to say that this reaction is not as strange as we might think. Because my brothers and sisters, when we encounter Jesus and become fully aware of His divine presence and glory, it is as if, we had awoken from a deep sleep… When this happens we cannot just sit there His presence compels us to spring into action.
I call these moments “Transfiguration Moments” These are moments in which we wake up from the slumber of our daily life and become fully aware of God’s divine presence and glory. Now you might be thinking that these are the kind of moments that only happens to Saints or that you really need to spend days fasting and praying to have this type of encounter with God. But that is not the case. Fasting and prayer do help, especially during a time like lent, but they help not because they make us worthy or holy but because they get us out of our comfort zone. Na that is a key condition for experiencing transfiguration moments. Did you notice how Jesus took Peter, James and John by themselves to a mountain? He wanted to make sure the apostles were not distracted by the crowds or their daily lives, he wanted them to become fully aware.
Before, I mentioned our mission trip to Jamaica. I believe that this is a perfect example of a transfiguration moment. The 9 people that attended this trip are no different that you or me. But each one of them was taken away from their comfort zone and was confronted with the poorest of the poor, what Blessed Mother Teresa used to call “Jesus in all His disguises”. And judging by their reactions during and after the trip I can honestly say that they all had the same type of experience the apostles had that day in the mountains. Perhaps it was not as “flashy” as Peter’s, John’s and James’s experience but each one of these people awoke to the divine presence of God, and were compelled to respond in different ways.
Let me tell you about Cindy young woman how last year after her first trip to Jamaica decided to change college mayor and concentrate in becoming a teacher. It was obvious to many of us in this trip that someday she will return to Jamaica to teach poor children. Let me tell you about Doug, who owns a printing company. He saw the condition of the hymnals in a church we visited and volunteered his company resources to print new ones for the archdiocese of Manderville. Let me tell you about Diane a mother with grown children that decided to get involved in finding sponsors for some of the orphans we met there, and Mike and "the other" Mike, two gentlemen that after seen the conditions of the tools we were using, are currently working on sending supplies and cordless tools to help in the construction of new homes for the poor, let me tell you about Dan that after our trip decided to take his faith more seriously and now is involved with our youth Confirmation program. Let me tell you about Chris a young college student that went to Jamaica last year, before the end of our trip he was already wandering how to get the money to accompany us next year!! Each one of these people had an encounter with the risen Christ in Jamaica, became “fully awaken” and sprung into action. I’m sure that if I were to ask them they will all say that in this trip they had a Transfiguration Moment.
You might be thinking, “wow… that sounds great” but, do I have to go to Jamaica to have my own transfiguration moment? Of course not! As a matter of fact, Lent IS a perfect time to experience the transforming presence of God. This is a time in which we get out from our comfort zone, by fasting, prayer, penance and acts of mercy. I invite you in this special season not to limit yourself to just giving up chocolate of our favorite desert, but to really get out of your comfort zone and seek opportunities to find Jesus in all his disguises, and I assure you my brothers and sisters that you too will have your own transfiguration experience this holy season. Amen!

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Feast of the Holy Family

Here is the homily for this weekend. Merry Christmas everyone!!!
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Back in June of 2005 my family and I were vacationing on the beautiful beaches of South Carolina when we were visited by every parent’s worst nightmare. The surf was a bit ruff so I made a point of keeping an eye on the kids as they played in the breaking waves. When all of the sudden our younger daughter Sarah, was gone. I remember Nancy and I frantically asking our kids and our friends if they have seen Sarah. Someone said that the last time they seen her was playing in the surf. Imagine my desperation when, been from the Caribbean, I know very well, how strong currents can pull down a child and how easily their little lungs will fill with sand and sea water when they are fighting against the waves.
For the longest ten minutes of my life I ran up and down the beach calling for her and praying for her return. Thankfully, Sarah had just wandered of the water and not been able to find us in the crowd had kept walking. The report of a missing child named Sarah spread like fire around the beach. A quarter of a mile away a lady noticed a little girl walking by herself so she asked her if her name was Sarah, and offered to walk her back to her parents. I don’t think there are enough words in the English language to express the sense of relief and gratitude my family fell when we saw our daughter being returned to us by a Good Samaritan.
I bet that if I were to take a poll today, more than one family will say they have lived a similar experience. I also find it very interesting that the Church chooses a similar story to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. You see, we might think that, since in the family of Nazareth, Jesus was the Son of God, Mary was born without sin and Joseph was a saint, their existence was peaceful and almost heavenly. But the reality is this: they were not that much different from us. And in today’s gospel we can actually see how much like the members of our own families they were. And how much the reacted like we react in our own families. Look for example at Jesus answer to his parents; doesn’t he sound like your typical teen? “Didn’t you know you could find me at my father’s house????? Come one Mon get with the program…isn’t it obvious!!! Where I was going to be???? Look at Mary’s statement: “Son, why have you done this to us??? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” Mary sounds like the mother that knowing there is a lot of tension in the family tries to be the peace maker. But to me the most telling part of today’s Gospel is Joseph’s reaction. Knowing really well that he, Joseph, was the one person responsible for protecting and providing for the Son God, the messiah of Israel, and that He had lost Him 3 days ago, when he finally finds him… he says nothing! I know that when my own child was lost for 10 minutes I had some “Choice Words” for her when she was returned to me. And if I were to ask parents (and children) here today they will agree that this is the most likely reaction. I don’t think we will never know but, I would venture to say that the reason why Luke did not record anything Joseph said is because perhaps he had some "chosen words" of his own.
My brothers and sisters, it should be a great consolation to know that the holy family was not much different than our families, and that regardless of the fact these were people who lived in a unique communion with each other and with God The Father, their family was not immune to the same events that can fill our lives with stress and despair, and that their first reaction was very human, very similar to our own reactions.
The feast of the holy family, which we are celebrating today, is the only major feast celebrated within the 12 days of Christmas. I think, it is fitting that we remember the Holy Family, not in their moments of domestic bliss, but in their most vulnerable moments, especially during these times in which our own families gather together. Because the reality is, many of us are not having a “Hallmark” Christmas. Many families might be dealing with the stress of… well… been a family! Perhaps, they might be dealing with the absence or the loss of a child or a parent. Perhaps they are dealing with their own “choice words” spoken in haste but not meant at all or perhaps there are some families here asking “Son, Daughter, mother, father, brother, sister…Why are you doing this to us???”
In today’s gospel we get a very human picture of the Holy Family a picture which reflects our own humanity. Today Mary, Joseph and Jesus are not just statues standing in a church but they are the members of our own families. So if the story were to end there at that very awkward moment in the temple, then we will have to say that there is not hope for our own families, but the reality is that after this happened, the gospel says that the three of them returned back home and Jesus remained obedient to them, Mary kept quietly all these things in her hart and Joseph in his silence continued imparting to Jesus His human wisdom. In short they went back home and kept loving each other.
This is the message we should take with us today. When our own families are confronted with moments of crisis or tension, it is important to look beyond our human frailties and continue loving each other. We all deal with stress in different ways. The holidays could be a very stressful time for families. I’m sure that Jesus getting lost in the temple was not the first or last time in which Joseph and Mary could not understand why Jesus was doing what he was doing. But they never stop loving him or loving each other. So on this time in which we might be dealing with the problems of our own family, let’s follow their example and look beyond those things that might be causing us despair and remember that we ARE family and that as family we are called to love and care for each other, not only during the holidays but every day at every moment of our lives. May you have a most blessed Christmas Season.

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2nd Sunday of Advent

I don’t know if you have noticed this but this year it seems like the Christmas season started way before Advent. As a matter of fact back in October I was meeting with my Tuesday morning men’s group when one of the guys pointed out that we were drinking from a Christmas cup. I took a look at the message written in the side and have admit that it caused a big impression on me. Now… I do not think it is proper for me to mention the name of this fine establishment were we meet every Tuesday. But, what I can do is show you the cup I’m talking about.



Like I said before, the message in this cup surprised me, not because I found some deep theological insight on it, but because I saw it as the complete opposite of the Advent message.
Let me show you what I mean. Right here around the seal we see the images of three Christmas ornaments with the words “Love” “Hope” and “Wish”. Perhaps it is because I’m a deacon but I’m always noticing stuff like this. When I saw this, my mind went to another very similar list of words “Hope”, “Love” and “Faith”; Which if you remember your catechism happen to be what the Church calls the 3 theological virtues.
Before we can continue I need to say a few things about the word virtue because this is one of those words we do not hear every often in our everyday life. A virtue is a character trait which is valued as been good. The Church teaches that a virtuous person has a firm disposition to do good.
Now if you go back to your religious education days again, you will remember that there are two types of virtues, human virtues (like fairness, wisdom, endurance) which we learn from our environment, family and friends.
And then there is the other kind of virtue, a type so fundamental to whom we are that they cannot be learned. The only way we can acquire these is as the result of divine action. These virtues are a gift from God, given to us freely with the exclusive purpose of helping us fulfill our eternal destiny which is the salvation of our souls. There are only three virtues of this type, faith, hope and love. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve these; however like any other virtue what we can do is ignore them when we find ourselves in a situation in which we are require to use these. At any moment in our lives we can exercise our free will and decide that we do not want to love, or to have hope or worst of all we can decide to ignore the dictates of our faith.
You might be asking, ok…so…what about the cup? Well, when we see that “Faith” is replaced by “Wish”, the message is clear, in our culture we do not need faith; Yes, we should keep hope alive and love each other, but in this time before Christmas we should concentrate in wishing and wanting for those things that we would like to have. So at the end of the day what we are asked to do is, not to exercise a virtue but to enjoy a vice, vise we call “greed”.
You might be thinking that perhaps I’m reading too much in just a cup of coffee. And maybe you are right but before you dismiss what I’m saying let me read to you what it says on the other side of the cup.



Well… I do not know you but to me what makes the holydays the holydays is my belief that our Lord Jesus will return again in glory, along with the hope that he will take all of us with Him to heaven, and specially the holydays are the holydays because of the love I give to others and not because of anything I can wish for myself. Our faith tells us that this is a season for, loving and “waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ” and not the season to sit down and contemplate the world as “it could be”.
Advent is the season to become the “John the Baptizers” of our times. A time to go out and become the voice crying into the desert of our culture, prepare the way of the Lord, Jesus will come again, hope in his promises of salvation and have faith in His word and His Church.
Faith, hope and love; this is the time to exercise these gifts from God, this is what makes advent so special. Have a most blessed and happy advent!

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