ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

  THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Some things can be known about God by the use of human reason.  For example, that he is all-powerful, eternal, and the source of life.  But human beings can only come to know the true nature of God, who he is in himself – that is, his substance – by revelation.  “To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament.  But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of God’s Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #237) .  St. John writes in his Gospel, “No one has ever seen God.  The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (Jn 1:18) . Christianity is unique among monotheistic religions in that we confess that God is One and Three.  An early creed of the Church professed that “God is one but not solitary.”...

  THE HIDDENESS OF MARY Saints Luke and Matthew give our Blessed Mother Mary a leading role in the first two chapters of their Gospels, but after that write very little about her.  Luke mentions her once in the Acts of the Apostles, noting that she was among those who gathered in prayer with the eleven apostles shortly before Pentecost (Acts 1:14) .  Saint Mark mentions Mary’s name only once, when he records the townspeople of Nazareth calling Jesus “the son of Mary” (Mk 6:3; also, Mt 13:55) .  Mary is referenced once more in Mark, Luke, and Matthew not by name but simply as Jesus’ mother when she and his relatives seek to get to him through the crowds (Mt 12:46-50; Mk 3:31-35; Lk 8,19-21) .  In the Gospel of John Mary is seen at two key moments.  Her name is not given, but she is addressed by Jesus as “woman”; at the wedding feast of Cana, and in his dying moments on the Cross (Jn 2:4 & 19:26) . Saint John presents Mary very prominently in the twelfth...

  THE HIDDENESS OF MARY (continued) This is the follow-up to my article last week on the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I promised to provide more commentary on some Marian texts with the hope of showing that the New Testament does, in fact, give Mary a prominent role in God’s plan for the salvation of the world.  Let us consider Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.  The angel Gabriel had told her that her cousin Elizabeth, who was without child, had conceived a son in her old age and was due in three months.  After the angel left, Mary “made haste” to visit her cousin “in the hill country, to a city of Judah.”  When she greeted Elizabeth the babe, later known as John the Baptist, leaped in her womb.  The precursor of the Messiah leaped for joy on hearing Mary’s voice and was consecrated in the womb.  Elizabeth said,  “And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43) .  Mary responded by singing a canticle, which ...

  MARRIAGE AND PARENTHOOD When God created Adam, he saw that it was not good for him to be alone.  He said, “I will make a helper suited to him.”  God then created the animals “but none proved to be a helper suited to the man.”  So God caused Adam to fall asleep, and out of his rib he formed a woman.  When Adam saw her, he recognized her as his partner: “‘This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.’  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body” (Genesis 2:23-24) .  The first commandment God gave them was for Adam and Eve to be “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:27-28).   Thus, the vocation of marriage preceded all things, even the cultivation of the earth.  All of creation is built upon the union of man and woman.   Marriage was given by God so that ...

  DON’T BELIEVE THE LIES The state of Delaware recently joined some twenty other states in the Union, including New Jersey, in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.  This despite its proven negative physical and mental health effects.  Study after study indicate that recreational use of marijuana is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.  Too many governors and state legislators are ignoring them.  For whatever reason, they are listening to the promoters of marijuana who have a vested interest in profiting from the legal sale of pot.  Some pro-pot politicians have even spoken of the favorable effect on tax proceeds which will be gained by legalizing pot.  These lawmakers do not deserve to remain in office.  The United States Department of Health and Human Services warns of the many risks from using marijuana: permanent non-reversible IQ loss – as much as 8 points in young people; increased levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, an...

  JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD The herding of sheep was one of the most common professions in the ancient world.  People understood how important a shepherd was to the sheep.  Without him, they were helpless.  At times a good shepherd had to risk his life to protect them.  He had few possessions and lived with the sheep in the fields.  The shepherd was important not only to the sheep but to the population in general.  If the sheep were not nourished and protected, they would not be a steady source of food and wool.  Moreover, sheep were essential to the most important religious ceremonies of Israel, especially Passover.  The ritual sacrifice of a healthy, one-year old male lamb, and its consumption by the family or families that offered it, was the heart of its observance.  At the beginning of the establishment of the kingdom of Israel and the end of the reign of the judges, some good and some bad, God chose a shepherd to lead his people....

  CHANGE IS COMING Change is not always welcome.  We have our routines to which we have become accustomed and when they are interrupted it can be annoying.  I can speak from personal experience; in the past, the most difficult for me have been changes in priestly assignments; leaving what I know, people I care about, having to put into someone else’s hands projects I might have planned or started, and the whole hassle of moving.  But through every change God has been with me and has helped me to grow.  The change which many of you have experienced is much more traumatic than my changes in assignment.  Perhaps you have experienced a terrible medical diagnosis, the loss of a spouse or child, divorce, the loss of a job, etc.  All these events which so many experience initiate unwelcome change.  It is difficult, but as followers of Christ we have great support.  We have the Church to help us by her prayers, the sacraments, and brothers and si...