A Word of Hope

People came to Jesus and asked why his disciples did not fast. He replied that they could not fast while the bridegroom was with them, indicating himself as the divine presence with them. But, why do we fast? To show that God is first in our life, before our own desire for food and gratification.

At the wedding feast at Cana, Mary sees a problem and solves it—getting Jesus to perform his first miracle of changing water to wine. We can turn to Mary to petition her son to solve the problems or "untie the knots" in our own lives, but we then have to trust that God hears and do what Jesus says.

Today we hear the call of Levi. Jesus said "Follow me" and he left everything and followed. That is the heart of discipleship. May we follow our own call by God.

On this memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (also known as St. Anthony of the Desert), we remember this courageous Desert Father who fought the devil with prayer. Prayer can be a powerful tools for keeping the evil that creeps into all of our lives at bay.

"If today you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." There are many ways in which God speaks to us, and perhaps the most clear way is through the humanity of the people we encounter. Be open to them and how they are doing, not just what they are doing.

Our love has to reach out to heal others, starting at home and then reaching out beyond our home, always rooted in prayer.

Unlike other teachers of his day, Jesus taught with authority and his words liberated people from suffering. Perhaps we can make a New Year's resolution to make our words liberate others.

As we return to Ordinary Time, we hear the call of Peter and Andrew, ordinary people who did the extraordinary thing of dropping everything to follow Jesus. Will we even hear when God calls us?

On this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we recall that Jesus was baptised to carry out the the commission of the Prophet Isaiah, "Give Comfort to my People." May all of us who are baptised fulfil this mission.

After Jesus was baptised by John, Jesus went on to baptise others. When John was asked about it, he was happy that Jesus was doing this and becoming greater than he. All of the blessings God gives us should be nurtured, and multiplied, and then passed along to more people, until the whole world is blessed.

Jesus is the source of all truth. Do we ask for God's help in finding the truth?

Jesus came to bring Good News to the poor. It is incumbent on Christians to help the poor and alleviate their suffering, but even more than that, the Better News is that Jesus brings forgiveness, which starts with the poor, and promises a better life in heaven than anything we could imagine in this world.

The First Letter of John assures us that if we believe in Jesus and strive to love as he did, we will be prepared for life everlasting with God in heaven.

In miraculously feeding the multitudes, Jesus invites his disciples to collaborate with him in God's saving work. His disciples are not sure they can.

In the Gospel, Jesus leaves home and starts preaching and developing a following. In the First Letter of John we are challenged to test the voices we hear and to place Jesus' message above all others. Ask yourself, why do you believe in Jesus?

On this Epiphany Sunday, we remember that the magi used their reason and science to find the Christ child. May we do the same.

Jesus asked his disciples what they were looking for, and the same question can be asked of ourselves. Are we looking for God?

Jesus is God's own Son. We are called to be children of God, and Jesus points the way to become such.

Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, who share this memorial, were great friends. Their friendship brought them each closer to God. Friends can bring us closer to God and friendship itself is a model of what our relationship should be with God.

On this Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, we remember what a blessing she was to Jesus and to us. As the new year begins, we also take the opportunity, like Mary, to ponder the past and open ourselves to the future.

The first chapter of the Gospel of John reminds us: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." As we prepare to welcome a new year, let us move forward with confidence that God's unfailing light will help us create all things new and shake off the darkness of the past year.

The Prophet(ess) Anna recognized the Christ child as the new messiah when he was presented in the Temple. Let us honor all the women whose resilient, prophetic, and steady faith has fed the church and our guided our own faith journeys.

On this Feast of the Holy Family, we recall Jesus being lost for days and finally found in the Temple, seemingly oblivious to the worry he caused his parents. Every family has some degree of chaos as different members pull in different directions. There is not only one way to be a "perfect" family. Families and churches are best when they let each member be the best version of who they really are, and then together they create their own best version of family.

On this Feast of the Holy Innocents, we remember how, warned by an an angel in his dream, Joseph fled with his family in the middle of the night to escape Herod's deadly wrath. There is still genocide and evil in our world, and we still need to listen to God about when to stand and when to run.