Joseph

The readings for Sunday, December 22nd, were from The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-24. These are powerful verses about St. Joseph, Mary’s future husband. He was a man caught in a difficult situation: his fiancée was with child and he wanted to do what was right before God. Though Joseph was to become the foster father of Jesus, he is never quoted in the Bible. Joseph was a strong, silent man. When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream,  he did as he was instructed. I imagine  Joseph being in deep prayer and asking God for a sign from heaven; then Gabriel appeared to him in a dream. Joseph had already contemplated quietly separating himself from Mary. God used archangels at this time because the world had not been introduced to the triune God. These angels were powerful messengers from God; they had the anointing to convey a message with gentle force. Joseph knew that his prayers were answered with the confirmation of the message from Gabriel the Archangel.

Mary

It was different with Mary; the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her in person. Mary had taken a Nazarite vow, which meant that her entire life was set aside to serve God. Her parents, Anna and Joachim, were like Hannah and Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1-28); they  could not conceive a child. Tradition has it that Anna and Joachim concieved and dedicated Mary to the the service of the Temple. At the age of three she was presented to the priest, and she remained in the care of the priest until it was decided that she should marry Joseph. Mary was 15 years  old at the time of Jesus’ birth. Her life remained true to the consecration of a Nazarite vow.  Joseph honored her and cared for her, but they never had children together because she remained a perpetual virgin. Joseph was much older than Mary; he was a widower with sons of his own. God set Mary aside to be the Mother of God.  Mary, from her birth, had been prepared for this great and mighty calling. Thank you, Blessed Ever Virgin Mary, for saying, “Behold , I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Baby Jesus

The reason  that we celebrate this wonderful Annunciation, and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is no surprise. He came to save us, and we are all called to serve Him. This tiny baby was born in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and nursed by the holy, consecrated milk of His precious Mother Mary;  yet many cannot set aside time to recognize the greatest event in all of history. There is no better time than now to seek Him! The Lord waits for us to give our heart, mind and spirit to Him. I pray that we all come to the understanding that it is He Who sits on the throne, it is He Who allows us to go through trials, so that we can draw closer to Him. I will never stay silent about how much I love Jesus, for where would I be without Him in my life? I bring good tidings in sharing that Our Lord was born on Christmas day, and He loves us all the same. No person is more special than another. We may believe that because we served Him longer that He loves us more. That is not how He operates. I am closer to the Lord because I seek Him out. I may know more about serving Him because I sacrifice my time to serve, but in all honesty anyone can do the same. Nothing changes in the Kingdom of God.  He loves us all the same and patiently waits for us to come in.

The Seasonal Job

I worked this past Saturday for eight hours. I watched as people methodically decided to pick out a wallet as a Christmas gift. I learned a lesson in patience that day. The Lord showed me those who could not make up their minds  because they were taking everything into consideration for the person they were purchasing the gift for. At first I wanted to scream, “Pick a wallet for Pete’s sake!” I never experienced an uncomfortable situation at work; instead I learned special things about strangers. One lady shared a touching story with me. This young lady,  a newlywed, said that she moved the date of her wedding so that her ailing mother could attend the ceremony. Her mother went home to be with the Lord shortly afterward. She bought two wallets because she wanted to be certain that she purchased the right one for her husband.

I could not believe that I lasted that long on my feet; I believe the Lord gave me special graces to endure this long day. I looked at my watch and it was 3 o’clock, the Divine Mercy Hour. I silently prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to myself during this time, partly because I still had three hours left on the clock, but mostly because it was the right thing to do.

The Big Misunderstanding

Working with my daughter has allowed me certain privileges; for example,I get a substantial discount on the merchandise I purchase in the store. I had already worked four days and  was planning on paying for some of my purchases with the money I earned. My daughter Sonja told me that I had a check at work. Then the saddest thing happened: I got to work early to select the gifts for other family members, but when Sonja rang up the total, I paid with a credit card. Then I asked her for my check,  only to discover that the money had already been deposited into my account almost two weeks ago! I had no idea that it was a direct deposit situation.  I never really enjoyed the fruits of my labor.  I had already spent the money without being aware that it was already in my account. I know that may come across as odd, but honestly my mind has been so preoccupied with matters of life that I did not bother to check where  the extra money came from. It just  meant more spending.

As I sat in great despair over the most ridiculous  mistake, suddenly it came to me that I still owed a co-worker $100 for throw blankets that he scored for me on a discount. I could feel the blood rush to my face as I announced that I owed him money. Since Sonja pays me a stipend for watching her sons, she told me that she would pay for the blankets with the money she owed me. So, woe is me, I can’t cook, and I can’t manage money either! That’s perfectly fine because I have other gifts.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

 Tamales

This is the time of year when my life starts to unravel; first it’s The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the eighth, then Mike’s birthday on the twelfth. (He shares his feast day with Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe). Then there’s our annual Tamale Party. We’ve made three batches of tamales so far; the first batch was burnt. The meat had that charred taste that overpowered, changing the flavor integrity of the sauce.  It was heartbreaking, but we had to start all over again. The second batch was great, and we had plenty of help too. I was so preoccupied with getting the ingredients ready that I did not really pay close attention to setting aside tamales for the contest. I had my friend Adele pick the ones that looked good from the outside. By the time we finished the production, we had only four dozen pork, and about six dozen chicken. I went to bed thinking that I should have looked for the old lady that was selling tamales at Mike’s workplace during the summer. Everyone raved about them. I wasn’t planning to cheat; I was just going to ask her for a few pointers. Fortunately Helen, the winner for the last four years, was willing to give me a tutorial. I took photographs, made notes, and mentally tried to remember every single step. When it was time to purchase the ingredients  for the tamales, I was  at work, so poor Mike was on his own. He’d text me with questions but, due to the strict orders of my boss (my daughter), I had wait until my break to respond.

The tamales turned out great! Even our son Mikos loved them. Last year he was quite the critic, and put a damper on my confidence of making tamales. Well it didn’t help that the tamales turned out soupy either. Our neighbors were so kind to show up for the production. Emily, Adele’s soon -to- be daughter-in-law, was a  great help. Mikos, Mick, (Mikos’ father-in-law), Maddie, Sonja, and Adele crowded over our kitchen table to produce some really good tamales.

I still was not feeling it, something was missing; so on Sunday after Mass Mike and I went to Northgate Market. This grocery chain is like a Mexican Whole Foods. For assurance I wanted to try their masa. Mike had already cooked the meat, so I made six dozen more pork tamales, and it was through the grace of God that I was able to complete this task on my own. The spirit of Superwoman overtook me, so I also made three dozen sweet tamales.

Saturday will be the the big day. I’ve asked our parish pastor to be one of the judges. Maybe, just maybe, he will have pity on my plight and show my tamales favor (or not!)

Mary’s Role in Advent

I was part of a lay ministry that always performed Christmas plays. These plays were executed with great heart. Everyone who participated had different work schedules, and traveled from several neighboring communities.  We rarely had time to practice for our Christmas productions. One play that I will never forget was about the Virgin of Guadalupe. My role was that of the Spanish maid of Fray Juan de Zumarraga, the Bishop of Mexico. My friend Robert played the part of Juan Diego. It was through this production that I learned the history of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. December 12th  is her feast day. I love the Blessed Virgin Mary, not only because she is the Mother of God, but because she is the perfect role model for all women. I know that those of you who are not Catholic believe that we pray to her. We do not pray to her, but we do venerate her. History tells of how God used His mother’s intervention to convert Mexico, a polytheistic nation that sacrificed as many as 50,000 people a year, including their children. According to Monsignor  Eduardo Chavez Sanchez, an expert on the history of “Santa Maria de Guadalupe,” Guadalupe’s Arabic name means “the river bed,” “the one who carries the water.” Msgr. Chavez said that it can also be translated as “river of light.” In just eight years after the apparition, with the help of the Spanish Franciscan missionaries, almost 9 million Indians had converted to Catholicism. Mexico was changed forever. On December 12th, if you live in a highly Hispanic populated area, you can attend Mass and really appreciate how we in the South West venerate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. I know on this day our Lord will smile down on us as we honor His beautiful Mother.

Second Sunday of Advent Message

The Gospel reading was from Matthew 3:1-12, the preaching of John the Baptist. John always spoke what God put in his heart; he never feared or wavered in his message. He always operated under the supernatural anointing of God. He did not care about the things of the world; he ate locusts. The camel hair coat he wore was turned inside out, to remind us of repentance. The great prophet Elijah wore similar clothing (2 Kings 1:8).  These garments were meant to set them apart. They came into the world solely to do God’s work. I wish John the Baptist were around today. He would most certainly put Nancy Pelosi in her place. I believe he would say something in the lines of: “Stop hiding behind the Catholic Church and confess all your wrong doings! Do not take communion unless you are in a state of grace.” Yes, that’s pretty much what he would say.

My Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for allowing us another year to celebrate Your Son’s birth. We humbly stand before Your holy throne.  Send Your mother’s intervention to help us repent of all of our sins. Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, you know your Son better than anyone else. Ask Him on our behalf to bring peace and conversions to our hurting nation. Blessed Mary, just as you directed the servants at the first miracle at the wedding in Cana to “Do what ever He tell you,” ask your precious Son to restore faith in our nation. Amen