"On our knees we are the most powerful force on earth"

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.  - 
Mother Teresa

(Scripture text: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59)

Stephen, filled with grace and power,

was working great wonders and signs among the people.

Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,

Cyrenians, and Alexandrians,

and people from Cilicia and Asia,

came forward and debated with Stephen,

but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When they heard this, they were infuriated,

and they ground their teeth at him.

But he, filled with the Holy Spirit,

looked up intently to heaven

and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

and he said,

"Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man

standing at the right hand of God."

But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears,

and rushed upon him together.

They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.

The witnesses laid down their cloaks

at the feet of a young man named Saul.

As they were stoning Stephen, he called out

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Strength is something that Stephen showed in a very difficult time.  A challenge of great magnitude, standing true to what he believes. 

God gives us a choice as to what we do in our daily lives. 

It is up to us to display strength as Stephen did, standing up for what we believe in.  In the reading there is an overwhelming amount of people upset at the faith Stephen is preaching and showing.  One voice can make a difference, and one voice can start a movement.  Stephen is not moved at the doubt in the crowd.  He looks up and God is with him.

Where does courage come from? 

Saint Stephen teaches us the answer.  He gazed upon Christ seated at the right hand of the Father.  Prayer - we need to find strength from the experience of being loved that can only come from frequent, intense, and profound contact with God through prayer, especially the source, summit, and center of Christian prayer, the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Many times in our lives we are afraid to speak up because we feel as though our voice will not be heard.  Stay true to who you really are and shine.  Don’t let life get you down.  Allow the love of God found through the Sacraments of the Catholic Church change a negative view into a positive one and keep faith an integral part of your daily life. 

We all have a voice – as well as a choice.

Christmas, my child, is love in action

“The simple shepherds heard the voice of an angel and found their lamb; the wise men saw the light of a star and found their wisdom.” – Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

(Gospel text: Luke 2:15-20)

When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

All of us are familiar with the character of Ebenezer Scrooge depicted in Charles Dickens famous novel, A Christmas Carol, or we have come to know of him through movies and television specials aired during the Christmas season.

Ebenezer Scrooge is completely self-absorbed.  He is resentful of the demands made upon him by those who are poor and less fortunate.

Scrooge, a tragic figure indeed, is visited by three spirits: the spirit of Christmas past, the spirit of Christmas present and the spirit of Christmas future.

The dramatic journey elicits his repentance. He becomes aware of his past indifference and cruelty and is moved to be more generous and benevolent toward those he had been mistreating in the past.

Through a profound catharsis, Ebenezer Scrooge learned how to live for others and not only for himself. By breaking the circle of his ego, he had enabled the light of Christianity to invade his soul and change him into a new man filled with joy and hope.

As Pope Benedict XVI recently wrote: "The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience."

The terrible problems that challenge the world this Christmas are not really a God problem, they are our problems. 

How will we respond?

The answer is not a what, it is a whom.  "I proclaim to you good news of great joy; today a Savior is born for us, Christ the Lord"

“People may doubt what you say but they will believe what you do”

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.  - Blaise Pascal

(Gospel text: Lk 1:67-79)

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

for he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hand of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace."

St. Luke tells us what happened.  The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the Jerusalem temple, while he carried the rituals of the Jewish priesthood (see Luke 1:8-22).  Gabriel had been sent by God to announce to Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would be granted the gift of a son. Zechariah doubted; and as punishment, lost his power of speech.  "Behold," Gabriel said, "you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words" (Luke 1:20).

Zechariah had nine months to think things over.

God's will is not always clear to us.  Sometimes, like Zechariah, we seem to be fumbling in the dark, seeking understanding.  In the midst of these experiences, we have to learn the lesson of patient faith.

"To live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be 'working through charity,' abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 162).

If we find ourselves in darkness and doubt, let us move towards the light.  The light of God radiating from his eternal Son envelops the Christmas feast, only one day away.  By staying close to Christ, we will find the source of our faith, the fulfillment of our understanding, and love without limit. 

"She is more Mother than Queen."

"If you ever feel distressed during your day — call upon our Lady — just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.' I must admit — this prayer has never failed me."--Blessed Mother Teresa

(Gospel text: Lk 1:39-45)

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

"Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled."

Are you ready to meet Christ in a new, deep, personal, intimate, life-changing way this Christmas season?

If you are like Mary, visiting others to share Christ and the Holy Spirit (see Lk 1:39ff), you are ready for Christ this Christmas. But if you're keeping Christ to yourself, do you love Him? How can you fail to speak of someone you love?

When we learn to walk in "Mary's way", which is the way of her Son and Savior, we will find the meaning of life itself because we choose through love to give "our" lives away in love, to the One who is Love. Mary said "Yes" to the invitation to love and she humbled herself. She confronted her own fears and she entered into a new way of living.

"Mary" Christmas! May we love Jesus as Mary does. When we do, we will have the Christmas of Christmases.