​“Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the Ark of God was.  And the Lord called to Samuel. . .”
          For the last couple of years, I have used a story with our eighth graders on their one day retreat  – with the encouragement that they will never hear God calling them ---- it they never quiet their lives enough to listen. . .  I think it is a lesson all of us, including myself, need to be reminded of from time to time.  So the story:  God is in the Silence  by Fiona Basile.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . .  God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
          God is speaking to your heart.  Are you listening?  I love you God says.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . . God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
          Listen closely to your heart.  I love you, God says.  You are precious in my eyes.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . . God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
          God lives in your heart.  I love you, God says.  You are precious in my eyes.  There is no one else like you.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . . God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
          Listen closely to your heart.  I love you, God says.  You are precious in my eyes.  There is no one else like you.  I created you just the way you are.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . .  God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
          Listen closely to your heart.  I love you God says.  You are precious in my eyes.  There is no one else like you.  I created you just the way you are.  You are mine.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . .  God is in the silence.  Can you hear God?
 
 
          Listen closely to your heart.  I love you, God says.  You are precious in my eyes.  There is no one else like you.  I created you just the way you are.  You are mine.  I am always with you.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . . God is in the silence.
Listen closely to your heart.  There is where God lives.  Can you hear God?
          I love you, God says.  You are precious in my eyes.  There is no one else like you.  I created you just the way you are.  And you are mine.  I am always with you.  You are safe.
          So rest --- and know that God is always in your heart.
          Be still.  Be quiet. . .  God is in the silence --- but we have to be willing to listen.
 
          And that’s the end of the story. . .
 
          After Samuel, with Eli’s help – figured out that it was God who was calling him ---
Samuel grew up to be a great prophet – a great spokesperson – for God.  Samuel was the last of the great judges of Israel and helped usher in the monarchy by anointing Saul the first king of Israel.
          It is said of Samuel that few people in the Bible were as obedient to God as he was.
          So what is God calling us to do??   Certainly like Andrew and Simon Peter in the Gospel – God is calling us to be followers of Jesus.
          But beyond that --- what is God calling us to do??  We will never know unless we listen:
Be still.  Be quiet. . . for God is in the silence.
          So ---- as I do on the eighth grade retreat  – let’s just sit in silence for a few minutes --- and invite God to speak to us – and like some of our eighth graders – this might not be easy for some of you . . .
 
[2 minutes of Silence]
 
          Perhaps we can add such moments of silence into our daily routines --- and begin to be overwhelmed by how much God has to say to us --- if we just quiet ourselves and listen. . .
          Be still.  Be quiet.
So the next time Jesus calls us by name to come and follow after him – we can say: 
          Here I am Lord, here I am:   I come to do your will!
          

​My guess is that not many of us still have our Christmas trees up – and yet we should. . .  because liturgically – in the Church – the Christmas season does not end until we celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism--- as we do today.
          It may seem kind of strange to conclude the season in which we celebrate the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem ---- with an event that takes place 30 years after Christ was born. . . and about 6 miles from his place of birth. . .
          But this feast celebrates a very important truth related to the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.
 
          At Christmas, when Christ was born, we believe that God – who loves us so much – became one of us – a human being --- with a father and a mother who loved him --- two arms, two legs, a personality, likes and dislikes, with friends and neighbors ---   a person like us in all things but sin.
          At Christmas God was plunged into our humanity and shares our humanity ---- and when we are Baptized – we are plunged into divinity and we share in God’s divinity --- a wonderful exchange that the Church proclaims at the celebration of every Mass when the priest or deacon pours water into the chalice of wine at the offertory and says:
          By the mystery of this water and wine – may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
          I always thought it was unfortunate that this prayer is said silently – rather than out loud – as it is quite a profound statement.   [Repeat]
 
          Yes, a wonderful exchange – God becomes a human so our lowly human bodies may be transformed after the pattern of Christ’s own glorious body.
 
          So the Lord’s Baptism – is an important link in the chain between his saving birth and our new birth in the Sacrament of Baptism.
          St. Leo the Great, who was Pope from 440 AD until his death in 461 --- used to give special catechism lessons to the newly Baptized.
          He would instruct them:  “Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning.  Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member.   Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and have been brought into the light of the kingdom of God.                                Never forget! 
Recalling that we are baptized should bring joy to us when we are sad – and strengthen us when we are tempted.   A powerful way to fight off temptation and sin --- is to recall our Baptism.  To say to ourselves:  “wait, I am a Christian.  I’m not supposed to act like this or to talk like this.  I’m supposed to act like Christ!   And God gives us the grace to it! 
Yes there can be – and needs to be – a righteous anger turned toward injustice and wrong doing – but when it turns to hateful words and violent actions – it ceases to be Christ-like
          For Baptism is more than just a symbolic ceremony where we express our faith – it is a life-changing event.
 In Baptism, as God does for us in all  the Sacraments:  God does something for us that we cannot do for ourselves:    God gives us a share in the divine life – a share in the power and strength by which Christ overcame sin and darkness and death on the cross.
          THIS is the greatest of all Christmas gifts – the gift of salvation – made possible by God becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ.  The gift that gives us the grace and strength to overcome the power of darkness and evil and death ---- the gift of eternal life!
          May that grace of our own Baptism be renewed and strengthened within us – so we know, as Isaiah the prophet told us in the first reading:  
that God has grasped us by the hand – and formed us and sent us out to be a light for the nations:  to open the eyes of the blind to bring prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon those who live in darkness:  to make God’s kingdom present by our words and actions.

​Almost 70 years ago – my father was a young student at the University of Louisville studying mechanical engineering.
          Mostly on the weekends, but also throughout the week – he hung out with some of my mother’s cousins who lived around the corner from his family in Shively, Kentucky.
          He was not too thrilled with the idea when his friends said their cousin from the country was coming to stay with them for the summer --- and asked if my dad would take her out on a date.
          As reluctant as my father was at first, one blind date turned into a second date, then another--- and the rest, as they say, is history. . .
          Up until the last decade or so – that’s how husbands met their wives – and wives their husbands.  It mostly happened by accident.
          --Sometimes it came about because someone happened to sit next to them in one of their classes or lived in the same dorm.
          --Sometimes it came about because a new family moved in next door.
          --Sometimes it came about because they worked for the same company or in the same building.
          --Sometimes it was the result of meeting a friend of a friend of a friend.
          --And sometimes it came about in the most clichéd way of all:  two bored people striking up a conversation in a bar or at a party. 
          Yes, until recently, people met other people in all sorts of ways, usually “just because” not because of something the person or persons were actually doing to bring it about.
          It’s all different these days – with the use of the internet and online searches for intended mates --- which is a method with some intentionality – the method in which people take the most active role in the search,  the method in which people don’t wait for something “accidental” to happen – but rather set out on a mission to find what they are looking for.  And it seems to work – as most engaged couples I work with these days tell me that’s how they met. . .
          There was certainly a type of intentionality involved in the Magi’s search for the newborn king of Israel – this was no chance excursion they were taking – no wild goose chase they got involved in ----
          NO – they were intentionally searching the stars of the heavens – perhaps for years – watching and waiting and looking for a sign that would signal something special, something out of the ordinary.
          And when that special light made its appearance  -- they set out on their quest to pay homage to the newborn king of the Jews –
not really knowing where they would end up – just following the light wherever it led them.
          We can presume this was NOT an easy journey – traveling in ancient times was never easy or safe.  And of course, ultimately they got to gaze on and
 do homage to the very Light of the World.
 
          “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem!  Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.”
          So says the prophet Isaiah in our first reading today.  In hindsight – it’s easy to see a foreshadowing in his words – a prophecy that would be realized centuries later.
          Isaiah seemed to understand that a kind of darkness had crept into the world – into the hearts and minds and spirits of the Jewish people.  And what would make things right, what would make things better, what would heal those broken hearts -- -was NOT a conqueror --- not a strong army ---- but rather LIGHT – a light that would dispel the darkness, a light which was God himself shining down upon them and with and through them.
          Christ our Light!   Thanks be to God. . .
          Does the intentional search of the Magi for the invisible God made visible – the light from light – true God from true God ------ describe us in any way???
          I know we SAY we look for God in our lives – but are we sincerely and intentionally looking for the Light??
          Do we really want to follow the path illuminated by the light of Christ – so that once we encounter it – we return by another way --------------- or do we just want to continue to forge our own path??
          Do we truly want the light of Christ to shine on our faults and failings and shortcomings and sins?
 
          Do we want the Light to dispel the darkness of our egos and selfishness and greed and self-righteousness – or do we secretly want to keep all of those things just as they are???
          You see our spiritual lives require the same kind of intentionality as we have in the dating scene these days.    It requires a certain kind of focus and persistence and humility.  It requires openness to grace and a willingness to be led.
          We have to have some sort of idea who we are looking for, some sort of conviction that God’s way is always the best way, some sort of acceptance and acknowledgement that we need to change –
need to forgive more --- and to love more --- the need to be more accepting and a little less judgmental. . .
 
 
          Without these things, we will likely remain in the darkness and remain in a kind of spiritual loneliness in which we ultimately spend our lives waiting for God to come to us ------ all the while God is inviting us to come to him. . .
          Put another way – it’s sort of as if we are continually sitting at home on the couch every night, wondering why we can’t ever meet someone --- while failing to make any effort to help bring it about. . .
May we look to the Magi for wisdom, courage, and trust --- to seek God in at all times, in all places, and in all people --- believing that it is a search in which we discover ---- the God we seek has been with us all along.  O Come let us adore Him. O Come let us adore him.  O Come. . . Christ – the Lord.
          

​Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.  AMEN!
Mother of God.  For us Catholics – those words roll off our tongues so easily. . .  We’ve heard them our whole lives – and have prayed them thousands of times in the Hail Mary. . .
In fact, we have heard them so many times that it’s easy to overlook just what a PROFOUND thing we are implying every time we say them. . .
 
Mary:  Mother of God.
 
 
That title for Mary is commonplace for us ---but that wasn’t always the case.  In fact, in the early days of the Church – they were tremendously controversial – and were argued about among learned people of all kinds.
Some of the controversy stemmed from the Church trying to understand Mary’s place in the story of salvation:  what really was Mary’s role in God’s plan to redeem the world?
 
But most of the controversy sprung from the Church’s struggle to figure out who Jesus was. . .
 
We sometimes forget that the Church had to wrestle with these very BIG questions, and to do their best to clarify these questions that had basically been unanswered in those first few centuries of Christianity.
Who is Jesus?  What does it mean to call him Son of God?  Does that mean he is a man – or is he God – or is he both?  What sort of a God is Jesus?  And depending on what was said of Jesus – determined how the Church would talk about Mary.
These are the questions that eventually needed to be answered – that needed to be thought about, argued over, prayed over – and ultimate stated for the faithful in order to believe ---
a process we have come to believe was – and continues to be – under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
And so it was in 431 AD at the Church Council at Ephesus --- that the Church declared that it was entirely appropriate to refer to Mary as the Mother of God ------- for Jesus was indeed – BOTH the only begotten Son of God – and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate – made flesh—of the Virgin Mary, and became man – as we say in the Nicene Creed.
What the Church actually accepted as the title for Mary was the Greek word “Theotokos” which means “God-bearer.”
So they affirmed that Jesus is God – and that Mary did bear and give birth to Jesus – and so was the Mother of God.    And for some, these things were a little unbelievable,  a little hard to accept.  These ideas were pretty controversial then. . . and for some, as Deacon Jim reminded us on the feast of the Immaculate Conception – they are still controversial. .
Sometimes it is hard for us to appreciate just how challenging and hard to wrap our minds around the teachings of Catholicism are. 
We who are on the inside become so used to rattling off our beliefs in the Creed that we fail to realize how difficult these teachings can be for those on the outside.
Often times I wonder what I would think of Catholicism had I grown up in a different Christian tradition --- or what I would think of Christianity had a grown up in another faith tradition???
My guess is that it would all seem a little hard to accept. . . would I be open enough to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be led where God wanted me to be --- or would I resist and be unable to embrace that which God wanted me to embrace?  Would I have chosen to be Catholic if not raised a Catholic?  Honestly, I really don’t know. . .
“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”
 
I think it is important to see Mary NOT as someone who had all the answers or had everything completely figured out or knew precisely what God’s plan was for her ----- BUT rather as someone who simply stepped out in faith AND SAID YES:  even though from the manger to the empty tomb she would wonder about these things. . .
The incredible things she was invited by the angel to accept were NOT obstacles to her faith, but rather were opportunities to deepen her faith and her trust and her hope in the God of her ancestors – and in a baby whose very existence she could not satisfactorily explain.
And so – fs we sometimes wonder about the teachings of the Church – good for us.  We need to keep wondering.  We need to keep asking questions.  We need to keep appreciating just how incredible and unbelievable and sometimes how inexplicable these things are.
And then keep on reflecting on these things in our hearts – as did Mary – NOT in the hope of getting clear answers – but trusting that the search itself is evidence of faith – a deep kind of faith that is always looking for greater meaning and understanding and union with our God.
 
And while we’re at it --- let’s be respectful of and understanding of those who find the teachings of our faith hard to accept – whether that is a spouse, a child, a friend, or a stranger.  And be respectful and understanding of those who believe in a faith tradition that is different from ours – because that is the faith in which they were raised.
          Mary, MOTHER OF GOD. . .
May these words always fill us with awe for the incredible God we have and the unique role Mary played in God’s plan to save the world.
Hail Mary, mother of God, pray for sinners now – and at the hour of death.  AMEN!