Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are traditional practices associated with the season of Lent. During this penitential season we are urged to spend more time in prayer, to engage in some form of fasting, and to be more generous in sharing our blessings with those in need. These practices were mentioned in the Gospel for Ash Wednesday.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 4:1-13), we hear that after his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil.”

Jesus resisted the temptations posed by the devil by quoting three phrases taken from the scriptures.

When the devil tempted Jesus to change stone into bread to satisfy his hunger, Jesus proclaimed, “One does not live on bread alone.”

When Jesus was tempted to give his allegiance to the devil in order to gain worldly power and glory, Jesus declared, “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”

When the devil tempted Jesus to prove he was the Son of God by throwing himself from the parapet of the Temple, Jesus asserted, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

These powerful phrases uttered by Jesus would be ideal phrases to make our own during Lent.

“One does not live on bread alone” can remind us that our deepest hungers are not satisfied by what we eat or drink, or by material possessions, but rather by love, mercy, meaning, truth, and a connection with God who created us with a hunger in our hearts for him.

“You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve,” can remind us of our dependence upon God and of the gratitude, thanks, and worship we owe him. Recognizing that all we have, even our very lives, are gifts from God, will lead us to proclaim, as we say at every Mass, “It is right to give him thanks and praise.”

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test,” can remind us that as creatures of God, we are in no position to question God, make demands upon him, or require that God act in a certain way to pass our tests. We place our faith in God not because God does what we want, when we want, but because God has chosen to reveal himself to us as our loving Father.

Repeating these three phrases each day of Lent can remind us to feed our spirits, to acknowledge our dependence upon God, and to remember that God is in control.

Following the wisdom embodied in these phrases and performing the practices traditionally associated with Lent will help us grow in holiness during these forty days.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Please let us know how we did.

Emails and text messages with that subject line often appear on our digital devices after we have visited a health care provider, made a purchase in a store that has our contact information, or reached out to customer support with an issue we might be having with a product or service.

These messages ask us to complete a survey to rate the person who provided us with a service or helped us with a purchase.

However, we do not need a survey to encourage us to evaluate a person’s performance. We are continually rating and evaluating those with whom we interact.

We evaluate employers, managers, fellow employees, teachers, neighbors, relatives, friends, as well as political leaders, public servants, coaches, police officers, mechanics and trades people, and even our priests. We are always rating and evaluating people. As we know, pollsters such as Gallup and Rasmussen continually provide us with data about how we judge our government and corporate leaders are doing.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 6:39-45), Jesus speaks about evaluating others. He tells us that before we judge what is negative in others, we need to honestly evaluate ourselves and consider how we are doing.

As Jesus tells us, “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

Jesus challenges us to first take a good look at our own lives before we begin looking for the “splinters” in the lives of others.

One way to respond to that challenge of Jesus is to make time at the end of each day to carefully consider how we have lived. During such an evaluation or an “examination of conscience” as it is traditionally called, we might ask ourselves if our words and conversations that day lifted people up or tore them down, if our actions resulted in good or evil. As Jesus reminds us, “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil.”

Such a daily examination of conscience will help us to see more clearly how we are doing in our Christian lives. It would also be a perfect thing to do each evening during the coming days of Lent.

At the end of each day, we might think of the Lord sending us a message, Please let us know how you did.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Les Misérables, an acclaimed epic novel by Victor Hugo, was the basis for a famous, long-running Broadway musical and the inspiration for two movies of the same name.

Les Misérables, also known as Les Miz, is set in early 19^th century France. It tells the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, who is released from prison in 1815 after having served a 19-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving child.

On his way to report to his parole officer, the hungry and confused Jean Valjean is shown hospitality by a Catholic bishop who feeds him dinner and offers him a place to stay. During the night, Valjean begins to steal the silver in the bishop’s home. When the bishop confronts him, Valjean knocks the bishop unconscious and escapes with the silver.

The police capture Jean Valjean and bring him and the silver back to the bishop. Amazingly, the bishop does not deny Valjean’s lie that he was given the silver by the bishop. In fact, the bishop says that he is angry with Valjean since he forgot to take the silver candlesticks.

When they are alone, the bishop says, “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.”

That bishop truly responded to the challenge of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 6:27-38). “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.”

Because that bishop acted as he did, Jean Valjean was changed and transformed. He never forgot what the bishop did for him. During the rest of his life, Jean Valjean tried to act with the same love and forgiveness that he had received. He even showed mercy to the police inspector who relentlessly sought to return him to prison.

What that bishop did for Jean Valjean, God has done for us. God has forgiven us not for stealing silver, but for our sins and selfishness. God has even forgiven us for throwing his beloved Son upon the cross. God has ransomed us from the power of evil.

Just as Jean Valjean never forgot the mercy and forgiveness the bishop showed him, we are to never forget the mercy and forgiveness that God has shown and continues to show us.

Perhaps if we remember that mercy and forgiveness, we will be able to meet, at least in some way, the challenge of Sunday’s Gospel. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

What we believe determines our vision of life and the way we live. We see that illustrated in this Sunday’s readings.

In Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 6:17, 20-26), Jesus tells us that the poor will have a place in God’s kingdom, the hungry will be satisfied, those weeping will laugh, and those hated because of the Son of Man will leap for joy.

But those whose lives were focused only on earthly wealth, success, pleasure, and fame will find themselves in a very different situation.

In short, Jesus tells us that in a time to come, some people will be blessed with happiness, while others will be in despair.

To believe that such an age will come, we must first believe, as Saint Paul tells us in our Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20), that “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” His resurrection is the assurance of our resurrection and of a future beyond the grave.

But if we believe that “Christ has not been raised…we are the most pitiable of all.” For then what Jesus says about the blessings that await the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted is merely wishful thinking. And the woes predicted for those who live a self-centered, godless existence are only idle warnings for when we die, we fall into nothingness.

Our belief that Jesus was raised from the dead transforms our perception of death and changes our vision of life and way of living. It gives us a reason to trust in God’s promises and shows us that the choices we make have eternal consequences.

Using the image found in our First Reading (Jeremiah 17:5-8), those who believe in the resurrection are “like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green.” 

Belief in the resurrection of Jesus is that stream of water that nourishes our spirit, sustains our life, and dispels the fear that comes when the heat of death draws near.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

If we had to choose a person to help us with a particular task, we could make that choice in one of two possible ways. We could simply pick a person at random, or we could carefully select a person to assist us.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 5:1-11), we see Jesus picking a boat to use as a floating platform to teach a large crowd gathered on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. Jesus chooses a particular boat, one belonging to Simon Peter.

Did Jesus simply make a random choice, or did he have a reason for deciding to use Peter’s boat?

If we only consider Sunday’s Gospel passage, we might assume Jesus’ choice was simply arbitrary. However, if we look at chapter four, the previous chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we might conclude that Jesus deliberately reached out to Peter and chose his boat.

In that chapter, we learn that Jesus had previously met Peter. We are told that after teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and freeing a man from a demon, Jesus “entered the house of Simon” (Luke 4:38). There Jesus was told that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was suffering from a severe fever. Jesus cured her and the woman then immediately waited on them.

Then “at sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them…At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place” (Luke 4:40, 42).

While Jesus was staying at his home, Peter witnessed the healing power of Jesus. At the same time, Jesus obviously observed Peter’s interactions with his wife, mother-in-law, relatives, and neighbors. During that time, Jesus came to know something about Peter and the two must have engaged in conversation.

So, when Jesus got into Peter’s boat and later told him to “put out into the deep water and lower your nets for catch,” Jesus was not speaking to someone he had picked at random and spoke to for the very first time. Jesus knew who Peter was and that knowledge led Jesus to invite Peter to leave his fishing boat and become a disciple.

That may have been the case with every disciple. While Jesus might have been divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit in selecting his disciples, his choices may also have been guided by watching, listening, and observing possible candidates. If the choices of Jesus were strictly divinely inspired, we would have to conclude that perhaps the Holy Spirit made a mistake in guiding Jesus to choose Judas, the one who would betray him.

Jesus had an eye on Peter, James, John, Thomas, and the others, and what he saw, heard, and observed led him to invite them to come follow him.

We might conclude the same is true for us. We too have been chosen and called to be disciples who draw people into the net of God’s Church.

God’s choice of us was not random. God selected us for a reason. God must see something in us, just as Jesus saw something in Peter!

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

On the Church’s liturgical calendar, this Sunday, February 2, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

But most people do not connect February 2 with the Presentation, but rather with Ground Hog Day. This is probably true for most Catholics as well, for the observance of the Lord’s Presentation most often falls on a weekday, not on a Sunday as it does in 2025.

Strange as it might seem, there may be a connection between these two celebrations that both occur on February 2.

On Ground Hog Day, thousands of people gather at sunrise in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to watch as a famed ground hog emerges from its burrow. According to tradition, if this ground hog sees its shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If it sees no shadow, spring will come early. Most people hope that no shadow is seen; they want the cold of winter to be quickly overcome by the warming light of spring.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which comes 40 days after Christmas Day, is also about light and hope.

This feast commemorates the day when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem. There Mary offered the sacrifice required to be made 40 days after giving birth to ensure her ritual purification. Then, as required by the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph dedicated their firstborn son to God.

In the Temple, the infant boy being dedicated to the Lord was noticed by Simeon, who “was righteous and devout…and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”

Inspired by the Spirit, Simeon realized this baby boy was the long-awaited Messiah, who would be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” and a source of glory for the people of Israel.  

The Prophetess Anna, a widow who had devoted most of her life to prayer, also saw and recognized the identity of the infant Jesus. “She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Both Simeon and Anna were blessed with the realization that Israel’s long, cold winter of waiting for the promised Messiah was coming to an end. In the infant being held by Mary, they saw the arrival of the light that would overcome the dark shadow of sin and death. Israel’s many years of waiting for the “spring” of salvation had come to an end.

February 2, the day when the media focuses society’s attention on a weather prediction, the Church directs our attention to a day of lasting significance. We remember the wondrous day when the Lord Jesus was recognized by Simeon and Anna as the hoped for Messiah, the source of light and salvation for us, and for all people.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Imagine how you would react if a noted author came to your home and presented you with a book he or she had just completed. And amazingly, the author told you that it had been written especially for you. Obviously, you would be surprised and eager to read the book you received.

Then imagine that as you were finishing that book, that same author unexpectedly appeared once more and gave you a second book that continued the story you had been reading.

We hear about such an unexpected event in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21). Saint Luke begins his Gospel by revealing that he had written it for a particular person. “I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus.” Luke wanted to present Theophilus with a book that would help him to “realize the certainty of the teachings” about Jesus.

Luke then went on to write a second book for Theophilus, the Acts of the Apostles. This book began with the words, “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” Then Luke began to relate how the apostle began to spread the message of Jesus, and the Church began to grow.

Theophilus, to whom Luke addressed his two books, was most likely a Gentile of high rank and influence. But while Luke may have been writing to a specific individual, his work is meant for everyone who wants to be part of the Christian community, who wants to be “a friend of God,” or a “Theophilus” as would be said in Greek.

For Luke’s writings to nourish the faith of Theophilus, his books had to be read. And that remains true today. The Word of God needs to be read and proclaimed if it is to affect our lives and draw us into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Sunday of the Word of God. This Sunday was instituted by Pope Francis in 2019 to remind us of the life-changing power of God’s Word found in the scriptures.

Unfortunately, the Word of God often remains unread on the pages of the Bible. Bibles are frequently purchased, in fact, sales increased more than 22% in 2024. However, Bibles are less frequently read.

This Sunday, we might resolve to deepen our love and appreciation of God’s Word by reading the two books written by Luke for Theophilus.

Each day, we might read one chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Then at the end of 24 days, we might continue with the Acts of the Apostles.

The Word of God made a difference in the life of Theophilus, and it can make a difference in our lives. It can make us a better “Theophilus,” a better “friend of God.”

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

If you see something, say something. That advice is frequently heard since terrorism remains a horrible possibility. We are urged to be aware of our surroundings, to take note of suspicious individuals, odd behavior, and unattended packages, and to say something to the police if any situation doesn’t seem quite right.

If you see something, say something also applies to other circumstances. For example, if we see a little child alone in a car, notice that an elderly neighbor has not left home for several days, or see an electric wire dangling above the ground, we should immediately say something to the proper authorities.

Responsible people speak up when they notice a problem. They do not ignore the situation, hoping that someone else might act.

This Sunday's Gospel reading (John 2:1-11) may lead us to conclude that Mary was a person who spoke up when she saw something.

We are told that Mary, along with Jesus and his disciples, had been invited to a wedding feast in Cana. During the celebration, Mary must have noticed that something was not quite right. Perhaps she saw the head waiter speaking excitedly to the bride and groom or noticed that the amount of wine being served kept getting smaller and then stopped all together.

Mary saw something, so she said something. She told her son, “They have no wine.” Jesus’ initial response was that the situation was not his concern.

Jesus may have hesitated to act since he did not want to reveal his power at that time. As he told Mary, “My hour has not yet come.”

Or perhaps Jesus did not want one of his first miracles (in fact, it is the first miracle in the Gospel of John) to involve providing wine for a party. After all, religious people like his cousin, John the Baptist, often abstained from wine and strong drink (Luke 1:15).

But Mary persisted, and Jesus acted. He changed some 120 to 180 gallons of water into wine. Jesus may have responded in a most generous way not only to save the bride and groom from embarrassment, but also to allow the guests to take some wine home. At the time of Jesus, wine was not only for celebration, but it was also a common source of hydration and nourishment.

Just as Mary said something because she saw something, we are encouraged to do likewise in our daily lives. It is also what we do when we gather for Sunday Mass. After we profess our faith, we come to the General Intercessions also known as the Universal Prayer.

In the intercessions, we bring the hurting people and the problem situations we see, and we say something about them to the Lord. In voicing those petitions, we ask the Lord to do something so that wars end, evil is overcome by good, the needs of the poor are satisfied, the sick recover, and the Church more effectively proclaims the Gospel.

In seeing those needs and saying something about them to the Lord, we are also reminded that as Christians, we are the people that the Lord often uses to bring about an answer to our intercessions.

Because Mary saw something and said something, a miracle took place at Cana. May the example of Mary inspire us to see the needs in our world and to say something about them to the Lord. If you see something, say something!

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Monday, January 20, is Inauguration Day. On that day, Donald Trump will stand in front of the United States Capitol Building and swear to faithfully execute the office of president and preserve, protect, and defend the constitution to the best of his ability.

Upon taking this oath, which will be administered by the Chief Justice, Donald Trump will become the 47^th President of our nation. Upon his inauguration, he will immediately assume all the duties of the presidency and members of his administration will take positions of leadership.

Today, January 12, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, might be seen as inauguration day in the Church’s calendar. Our Gospel tells us that Jesus was baptized by John. This baptism was not one that washed away sin, for Jesus was sinless. Rather this baptism marked a transition in the life of Jesus and the inauguration of his ministry.

Jesus, who went into the Jordan River as the carpenter from Nazareth and the son of Mary and Joseph, emerged as something far more. For Luke tells us that after the baptism of Jesus, “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”

After this “inauguration,” Jesus, who was then “about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23), began his public ministry. We might say that the “administration” of Jesus began as he went forth with his disciples to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel, to announce the coming of God’s Kingdom, and to bring healing and hope to the suffering.

This Feast of the Baptism of the Lord also inaugurates the weeks of the liturgical year called Ordinary Time. During the coming Sundays of this liturgical season, we will listen to Gospel readings that tell us of the work and ministry of God’s beloved Son.

This work and ministry continue to this very day through the Church that proclaims the Gospel, celebrates the sacraments, embodies the compassion and mercy of Jesus, and transforms people into children of God through the waters of baptism.

The inauguration of our new president and the start of his administration will affect our country for the next four years.

But the inauguration of the ministry of Jesus, which took place at his baptism, impacts each of us and it impacts all the world until the end of time.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Destination events have become increasingly popular. That is particularly the case when it comes to weddings. Rather than getting married in their local area, some couples decide to celebrate their marriage in a distant location known for its beauty, idyllic charm, cultural significance, or perhaps its connection to the ancestry of the bride or groom.

Attending a destination wedding requires a significant commitment of money, time, and effort on the part of the guests. They must arrange transportation to and from the location, book accommodations for several days, secure time off from work, procure necessary travel documents, budget money for meals and miscellaneous expenses, and provide an appropriate gift to the couple.

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12), we hear about the magi who received an invitation to a destination event that did not involve a wedding but rather the birth of a child.

They received this invitation not in written or verbal form but rather through a shining star in the sky that announced the birth of a new Jewish king. As they told Herod, “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

These magi “from the east” travelled a great distance to reach the destination indicated by the star. Though their exact starting point is not known, it had to be hundreds of miles away since their journey took considerable time. Matthew tells us that the star led the magi to a house in Bethlehem where “on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.” Jesus had grown and was no longer an infant lying in a manger.

Furthermore, when Herod decided to eliminate this “newborn king” who might threaten his power, he ordered his soldiers to kill the boys in Bethlehem up to the age of two. Herod chose that age “in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi” (Matthew 2:16). This implies the magi may have been travelling for many months, even up to two years, for this “destination event” that we celebrate on the Feast of the Epiphany.

When the magi encountered Jesus, they offered him the gifts they had carried with them. These gifts hinted at the identity of the child who was the goal of their journey. There was gold for one of kingly status, frankincense for one who was worthy of worship, and myrrh for one who would face death.

Like those magi, we too have been invited to a destination event, one that will take place at the end of our lives when we come before the Lord. As we journey to that final moment, we also need to keep moving forward in our faith, hope, and love so that we will be ready to offer the Lord the gift of holy lives.

Each Sunday when we come to Mass, we prepare for that final destination encounter. Each week, we journey to our parish church where we meet the Lord and respond to his invitation to hear his Word and share his life in the Eucharist.

Destination events are increasingly popular but the one that is most important is the destination event where, like the magi of old, we come face to face with the Lord.

© 2025 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Happy New Year!

May You Truly Experience the Peace and Presence of the Lord in 2025!

“In asking for Baptism for your children, you are undertaking the responsibility of raising them in the faith, …do you understand this responsibility?” This question is addressed to parents at every Baptism.

It is a question that Mary and Joseph could have answered positively when it came to raising their son in the Jewish Faith that was an essential part of their lives.

We see evidence of that in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 2:41-52), for the Feast of the Holy Family. There we learn that “each year, Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover.”

It would be logical to think that Joseph and Mary regularly took Jesus with them on this annual pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. After all, they knew their son had a special place in God’s plan of salvation. Mary had been told by the angel Gabriel that her son would “be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). In a dream, Joseph learned that the child to be born would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

When Jesus was 12 years old, he did not return home with Mary and Joseph after the Passover observance in Jerusalem. Jesus stayed behind at the Temple. Obviously, he must have felt comfortable remaining there since he had visited the Temple many times with his parents. Jesus may have begun to appreciate the Temple not just as a holy place, but as something more. As he asked Mary and Joseph when they later found him in the Temple, “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?”

When Mary and Joseph located Jesus, he was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. While his surprising knowledge can be attributed to divine inspiration, it could have also been the result of Mary and Joseph passing on their faith, their love of God, and their knowledge of the scriptures to their son.

In the years that followed, Jesus continued to grow in faith as “he advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.” We are told he was obedient to Mary and Joseph. He certainly learned from their example what it meant to be obedient to the will of God. He must have continued to go with Mary and Joseph on their annual pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem and he “went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day” Luke 4:16).

Mary and Joseph did all they could to pass on their faith to Jesus. They introduced him to the synagogue, brought him to the Temple, showed him the importance of fulfilling religious obligations, taught him about God’s law, introduced him to scriptures, and showed him what it meant to be obedient to the will of God.

What they did is what Catholic parents should do: They should make every effort to pass on their faith to their children by instructing them about God, taking them to Mass, showing them how to fulfill their religious obligations, teaching them how to pray, introducing them to the Scriptures, and encouraging them to develop as children of God.

By doing these things parents will fulfill their promise to raise their children in the Catholic Faith, and like Mary and Joseph, they will make their family a holy family.

© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Best Wishes for a Joyous Christmas Season!

May You Truly Experience the Peace and Presence of the Lord in 2025.

This Christmas Season is not only a season for giving. It is also a season for visiting!

Children away at school come home to visit their families and to see childhood friends.

Adult children visit their parents and siblings.

Boys and girls are taken by Moms and Dads to visit grandparents and great grandparents.

Married couples make it a point to visit their in-laws.

Neighbors often pay each other a holiday visit.

People visit their parishes for Mass. Even those who have drifted away from their faith often visit the Lord at Christmas.

These visits take place for a variety of reasons. We may visit out of love, concern, obligation, tradition, loneliness, or because we were invited.

This Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 1:39-45) focuses our attention on a visit, perhaps one of the most remembered visits of all time, namely, Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth.

This visit has been depicted by artists throughout the centuries. It is recalled whenever we pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. This visit has given us phrases found in the Hail Mary and even has its own special day: the Feast of the Visitation that is celebrated on May 31.

This visit, just like our own visits during this Christmas Season, took place for a reason.

Mary could have had several motives for making the 90-mile walk to see her cousin Elizabeth.

Mary may have gone to assist the elderly Elizabeth in her final three months of pregnancy and to rejoice with her that she and Zechariah would finally become parents.

Mary may have visited Elizabeth to tell her the amazing news she had received from the angel Gabriel about her being favored to give birth to the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32).

Perhaps Mary visited Elizabeth to learn from her experience what to expect as the child developed in her womb.

Mary may have sought Elizabeth’s advice on how she might handle the possible confusion in the mind of Joseph and their neighbors.

Whatever the reason, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was a source of wondrous delight for both of them.

It led Elizabeth to cry, “Blessed are you among women” as she felt the unborn infant in her womb leap for joy. And it caused Mary to give praise to God and exclaim, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Luke 1:46).

This time of year, as we make our visits to family and friends, we might remember Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Like Mary, may we bring joy to those we visit, and by our love and kindness may we remind them of the Holy One whom Mary brought with her on her visit to Elizabeth.

© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

Best Wishes for Happy and Holy Christmas Season,

Filled with the Peace and Presence of Christ the Lord.

“Shout for joy…Sing joyfully…Be glad and exult with all your heart!” This is what the Prophet Zephaniah tells the people of Judah to do in Sunday's first reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18a).

This same directive is found in Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm. The people are told, “Cry out with joy and gladness” and “Shout with exaltation.”

This message appears again in the Second Reading (Philippians 4:4-7). Saint Paul orders the Christians at Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”

In all three cases, the same reason is given for being joyful.

Zephaniah declares, “The Lord, your God, is in our midst, a mighty Savior.” The Responsorial Psalm proclaims, “For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” St. Paul announces, “The Lord is near.”

That same merciful, loving, and caring God whose presence is proclaimed in these readings is also in our midst.

God comes and speaks to us as the scriptures are proclaimed and invites us to become one with him in the eucharist.

God stands near us when we gather with our fellow Christians to lift up our hearts to him in prayer and seek to serve others as Jesus did.

God is with us at every moment of our lives. He began to dwell in us at our baptism and has no wish to leave us. As the Lord told us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Our readings this Sunday, remind us to be conscious that God is with us. This certainly is a reason for joy.

As we know, one of the greatest sources of joy in life is being with people who love us. That is certainly evident during the Christmas Season. We make every effort to be with family members and friends and others who love us.

It is not the Christmas presents we receive that truly matter but being in the presence of people who have made a place for us in their hearts.

Certainly, the people we hear about in Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 3:10-18) wanted to be in the Lord’s presence. That is why they sought out John’s baptism of repentance and asked him what they needed to do to be ready to stand in the presence of the coming Messiah.

The Lord whom they awaited is with us in a real and personal way. As Pope Francis reminds us, “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you” (The Joy of the Gospel, #164).

The Lord is in our midst. That is why the scriptures call us to “be glad and exult” and to “cry out with joy and gladness”

© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski

“May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.” These words are spoken by a bishop as he ordains a man to the diaconate or the priesthood.

At one point in the ceremony, each man being ordained kneels before the bishop. He places his folded hands into the hands of the bishop and promises him and his successors respect and obedience.

The bishop then says, “May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment.” The bishop prays that the one being ordained will be true to his vocation and continue to grow in his relationship with Christ and in his service to the Church.

The words spoken by the bishop are based on this Sunday’s Second Reading (Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11). In his letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul says, “Brothers and sisters…I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Paul then prays that God who blessed the Philippians with the gift of faith will continue to work in their lives so they will grow in love, discern what is of value, and be filled with righteousness.

The words of Paul addressed to the Philippians and used in the rite of ordination also apply to us, for God has begun a good work in us.

This work began at our baptism when God brought us into a relationship with him and made us part of his Church. That work of God continued as we received the sacraments, listened to his saving word, and joined with our fellow Christians in giving him praise and worship and in living the Gospel.

God has worked in our lives and wishes to continue his work. For that to happen, we need to let God work in us. As Pope Francis recently said, “We must allow ourselves to be transformed by the power of God’s love, which is greater than us and makes us capable of loving even beyond what we thought we were capable of.” (November 14, 2024 audience organized by the Dicastery for the Cause of Saints)

We are Christians because of what God has done in our lives. As Paul reminds us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

May we truly allow God’s grace to influence our lives so that God who has begun the good work in us will bring it to fulfillment.

© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski