Living Sacrifice: Growing in Faith Through Scripture and the Mass

In the mystery of suffering, and in our deepest needs, God comes down to us to bring us a new beginning and eternal life.  

God shines His divine light into our lives and gives us hope.  We remember that God will never fail or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and with hearts filled with living faith, we follow Him.

Jesus appears on Mount Tabor and is Transfigured before the Apostles Peter, James and John.  Moses and Elijah appear to Him and St. Luke says they spoke about "the exodus" He was to accomplish in Jerusalem.  Jesus leads us through a new exodus, from this life to eternal life with God.

Christ takes our human nature and enters into the desert to combat Satan and overcome temptation.  He teaches us how to give ourselves entirely to God.

God calls each of us to love and this weekend challenges us to love even our enemies.  By Christ living and loving in us we can hope follow this great commandment and truly be His disciples. 

God calls us to follow that path that leads to new and eternal life.  Practicing the presence of God allows us to find that path and to stay on it.

God calls us to a particular vocation and He also calls each of us to holiness of life.  Discovering His amazing grace, we are often overwhelmed by our own unworthiness, yet He purifies us and sends us out on mission!

Desire is an essential component in the Christians life.  We seek God, desire Him and allow Him to become the great end for which we live.

God gives us His word so that we can be strengthened and inspired to grow in life with Him and those around us.  How can we make the word of God the foundation of our spiritual lives and become more fruitful as His disciples?

Jesus is our Divine Bridegroom who comes to die for us and brings us new and everlasting life.  How can we unite ourselves more deeply to Him and bear fruit that will last?

Isaiah describes the Messiah as one who is gentle among us: "A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench."  Jesus is that wounded healer who was "wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5).

God is made manifest to all the nations of the world, represented by the Magi.  They adore Him and give him gifts because He alone is king and ruler of all.  

Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and humanity, yet God delights in the mediation of angels, men and women in His plan of salvation.  The Blessed Virgin Mary, as Mediatrix, plays a special role in bringing the grace of God into our lives. 

We are called to imitate the Holy Family in the virtues of family life.  The virtue of obedience helps us to listen to the word of God and submit freely to it as we bear great fruit in Christ.

In the Incarnation God tears open the veil and reveals the unseen world.  May we worship and adore Him, and then make Him known to all who long to see Him.

In the smallest things of life we often find great value.  Jesus comes to the Little Town of Bethlehem, and is found in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  May we find Him in the small things, and then, simply find Him everywhere.

God calls us to rejoice and even sing because Christmas is near.  Even in the darkest moments of life, we can find God drawing near and giving us hope and healing.  "Rejoice in the Lord always," says St. Paul, "I shall say it again: Rejoice!"

Growth in the spiritual life requires an engagement and a struggle in which God gains the victory for us and brings us great freedom and joy.  We receive the peace of Christ in Christmas when we strive for holiness in the Advent Season.

Advent is Latin for coming or arrival.  Jesus comes to us in the past in Bethlehem, in the future at His Second Coming, and He also comes to us each day in many different and amazing ways.  Are we ready for His coming?

Jesus Christ is Lord, King of the Universe.  Is He also your king?

God reveals to us the great truth that He is an eternal exchange of love, and that He is calling each and every one of us to share in His divine life. 

"Attention" writes Simone Weil, "is the rarest and purest form of generosity."  Our readings this weekend focus on the attention that leads to the generosity of love, what we are called to emulate as we follow Christ.

God creates us with the capacity to know and welcome Him into our lives.  When He commands us to love Him and our neighbor it is because He desires to be in communion with us and makes us capable of doing so.

No matter what our physical or outside constraints may be, God is able to set us free inside through faith, hope and love.  These Theological Virtues help us to live and love in God.

Christ allows us to unite our sufferings to His passion so that we can cooperate with His work of redeeming the world and share in the glory of God.