Inspired by Scholastica

When I read of all the murders, cruelty, wars, and hate crimes in the news, I become depressed and sad.  So it warmed my heart to read of Robert Flores in Kansas City, Kansas, who repairs houses without charge for people who cannot afford to hire someone. In 2016, he began a charitable organization called Habitaciones Para Latinos Association to aid Hispanic residents in Wyandotte County. With the help of a part-time assistant, he adds railings, renews worn out steps or porches, patches roofs, and other minor repairs. He uses his own money and some donations to pay for materials.  I also read about a young mother who gathered a few other women to help furnish apartments for new immigrants. They collect furniture and other household items to make the bare rooms habitable and attractive. They take joy in decorating the rooms and welcoming the new residents.  These people live the Christmas message of bringing good news for all the world. I'm sure there are many other exampl...

At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ as a baby in Bethlehem. More significantly, we celebrate that Christ is born in us. How do we understand this mystery? Christ is pure love, poured out abundantly to the whole world. When we love, we want to be like a vessel spilling over, never running empty. We can only love like this when Christ is born in us and we become his hands and feet and body. As Teresa of Avila once said: Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are His body. . . The holy ones have let Christ take over their lives so that he is loving through them. It is an awesome responsibility to carry out this mission, but Jesus is there to be our strength and courage. He guides and carries us as we go about our ...

Many of us have a tendency to want to look good and capable to others. We don’t exactly want to come across as perfect, but we don’t want to appear weak. We make an effort to look strong.   Being vulnerable is hard for most of us. Yet vulnerability is necessary for true friendship. When you trust the other with your feelings and weaknesses, it shows that you are honest and unafraid to reveal your inner personhood. It means taking a risk of being misunderstood or considered weak.   Vulnerability, however, also tells others that they do not have to be perfect, that you will understand their shortcomings and weaknesses too.   It makes them feel comfortable in your presence and able to share their own limitations. It tells them they can trust you to know how it feels to be an ordinary human being with imperfections.   Vulnerability is actually an asset rather than a hindrance in human beings.   People are drawn to those who are not afraid to “let their hair down.” I...

Mary was truly a woman for others. First, she traveled to help her cousin Elizabeth, who was also pregnant and much older, to prepare for her baby’s birth. She stayed for three months, probably making baby clothes and decorating a room for the child.   Then she helped Joseph with furnishing their new home, perhaps with drapes and rugs, while he made tables and chairs. I’m sure she delighted in preparing a room for Jesus, not knowing that he would be born in a stable in Bethlehem.   When Mary heard there was no room in the inn, she was content to make a bed of straw in the stable. I’m sure she must have welcomed the shepherds and let the children kiss the new-born Baby Jesus. She even let the sheep keep Jesus warm with their breath and wooly coats.   As she watched Jesus preaching and healing, Mary fought away her fears and probably brought people to hear his words and experience his touch. She wanted people to know her Son and to have their lives changed for the better. ...

We find ourselves in the wilderness, a dark and threatening world of lies, evil, threats, and war, looking for a path of safety, truth.  Then we hear a voice crying out, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” How do we prepare, make ready, when there is no map, no direction? Soon a man appears in sackcloth, crying, “Lower the mountains, straighten the road, take up your walking stick.” John, shows us the way to cut through the morass, smooth the buckled highway for our Savior. Then  the Son will appear who will strengthen our faltering steps and bring peace to our world. Come, Emmanuel!