We humans are such a complicated, changing, rational and irrational mix of thoughts and feelings. And yet these are the tools we use to guide our way through life. Which is stronger? Which is right?

As children our feelings are our only guide. Some things make us feel good – some things make us feel bad. So the child keeps doing the “feel good” till it doesn’t feel good any longer. (We all remember eating the whole bag of cookies/popcorn/candy till we got sick.)

Later on life has shown us that not everything that feels good is “good for us”. We learn the word “no” from parents who love us and want the best for us. We learn that sometimes it’s best to not follow our feelings. “No running by the pool.” “Don’t jump on the bed.” “No cigarette sales to minors.”

Most of these thoughts come from generations of trial and error. It’s a low form of what we call “wisdom”. How many of us have lamented that wisdom came too late? “I wish I knew then what I know now. Things would be different.”

So why do we have these feelings if sooner or later they trick us into some really bad choices? (Any tattoos you’d like to get rid of?)

It’s because at their beginning they propose to us a very good thing. Physical pleasure, emotional uplift, affection given and received . . . all these are fine, God given human desires. Feelings are what point us to them and secure them for us. Feelings are wonderful.

The problem is our feelings need a governor (or a cop). By themselves feelings are energy, desire, appetite. They are indiscriminate about what they are attracted to. They’ll chase whatever brings the desired feeling regard- less of the results. Feelings need to be taught their proper purpose.

And what is that? – – – – What’s true. This affection you feel . . . is it true love? The fun gathering of friends . . . is it true? The desire to have some new possession . . . does it serve a truth.

Meanwhile, joined as a twin to the truth is . . . the Good. If something is true, it’s good. If it’s good, it’s true. And what is the source of Good and True? God of course.

So goodness and truth are the guides for our feelings, for what we should want, what we should do. This will at times require us to say “no” to certain feelings. Not out of fear or repression but simply because they don’t serve what is True or Good.

Remember when Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days and nights? Matthew, Chapter 4 tells us “Jesus was hungry.” Bread looked pretty good to him at that point. Yum! “Order these stones to turn into bread”, the devil said to him. Jesus of course replied, “Not on bread alone does man live, but on every word that comes from God.”

So feelings. They’re God’s way of leading us to what is true and good, but they need the eyes of Faith to see clearly their proper end. Let us teach these things to our children and show them in the way we live our lives as adults.

God Bless You,
Fr. Tim

This bulletin article was written on January 24, 2016.

(This is a lesson I gave to a class of high school Juniors. See what you think.)

Look around you at all the objects we use every day. They all have a purpose. The pen you have in your pock- et is for writing or drawing. The bowl in the kitchen is there to hold your cereal. Your shoes are there to comfort your walking. You get it.

There is a “purpose principle” that applies throughout the world of nature. The eye was made “to see”, the ear to hear, the hand to hold something. Things work well when they are used in the way the maker had in mind for them.

When used for other purposes the results are not so happy. Ever put your ear buds up your nose? You won’t hear the music and it can be painful !. No, things generally have a proper place and a proper use – – – That’s why they were made in the first place!

And guess what? It’s the same with you. You were made for a purpose. It’s the reason you are alive and living in this world. You have no wings to fly, no gills to swim the waters. What are humans equipped to do that no other creature or object can duplicate? What were you made to do?

Well you’re doing one of your purposes right this second! You’re trying to learn something. Humans can learn and understand how things really are. The human mind is the greatest masterpiece of nature unlike anything found anywhere in the universe.

The second human miracle you performed happened this morning. You kissed someone goodbye (mom, dad, brother, sister) . . . OR . . . later today you’ll call some- one to tell them YOU LOVE THEM.

These are the two great gifts God has given us to make us human. The Power to know and to love. These two abilities belong to Our Nature and make us different from the rest of creation. They make us PERSONS.

But how can I use my powers of knowing and loving in the way for which they were made? There’s all kinds of stuff out there to learn about. Some of it is fun and interesting. Some of it is dark and nasty.

What should I put in my brain that leads me to proper knowing and loving? What should I keep away from? The answers to these questions make up a body of knowledge we call MORALITY.

God made the human being something like God Himself. With our reason we are hardwired to seek what is true. With the power of judgement we can discern what is good and what is evil.

However, the human race has experienced a confusion and a clouding of human judgement (original sin). Along with a knowledge of what is true we also experience a selfish pull (temptation) toward whatever pleases me at the moment.

Reason and judgement must be properly guided if they are to function as God intended. Here are the guiding moral principles God gives us in determining right from wrong.

• Natural Law. These principles are written into the very substance of our natural world. For example: moderation in what we eat or drink. How we treat our bodies. Respect for nature, its seasons, its treasury of air, water, plant and animal life.
• The Ten Commandments. The 4,000 year old code of human behavior given through Jewish history and accepted in some form by every major world religion.
• Teachings of Jesus. Christian morality contains the two above but adds the words of Jesus to move human behavior to even greater depths of love and goodness. EG. “Love your enemies, bless those who persecute you.”
• The Teachings of the Church. Using all the above, the Church guides us to right behavior in many human situations EG. Care for the poor, proper sexual relations, sanctity of human life in the womb, the rights of workers, justice for the weak and vulnerable.
• Wise and learned guidance by recognized authorities in the spiritual and moral life. EG. The growing opposition to the death penalty, increased awareness of a moral responsibility toward the environment.

No quiz. Just thought you’d like to know.

Fr. Tim

Do you like fancy words? They can be fun sometimes just because they sound cool . . . anaphora, oxymoron, protean (look ’em up!).

Here’s your word for the Christmas Season – – – Incarnation. It means “to become flesh”. It’s what happened when your dad winked at your mom and she smiled back. Their love became incarnate . . . in you!

And that’s what happened when Mary said “Yes” to the Holy Spirit. God became incarnate in the child Jesus. The whole Christmas Season echo’s this one astounding fact – God the Invisible One has become a human being . . . and that means “in the flesh”.

Below is a little story we’ve printed before. I like how it captures both the astounding presence of God and the simple cooing of a baby.

The Infant God

Every once in awhile you come across a story that captures a profound mystery and puts it in words that help us see it more clearly. This little gem was written by a Frenchman held captive during the last world war. He was an atheist but also a writer. Asked by his fellow P.O.W.’s to write a Christmas play he includes, as part of it, this beautiful description of the young Mary holding her baby. It touches the mystery of the Incarnation. (The speaker is a portrait painter who is now blind. He is asked by a fellow POW how he would imagine the faces of the mother and child.)

“The Virgin is pale and she looks at the child. What one should paint on her face is an anxious amazement that has only appeared once on a human face. For the Christ is her child, the flesh of her flesh and the fruit of her womb. She carried him nine months and will give him the breast, and her milk will become the blood of God. Momentarily, the temptation is so strong that she forgets that he is God. She squeezes him in her arms and says, ‘My little one.’

But at other times, she remains bewildered and she thinks: God is there, and she is taken with religious dread for this silent God, this terrifying child. For all mothers are also halted at some time before the rebellious member of their flesh, which is their child and they feel like exiles before this new life which they have made with their lives and in whom foreign thoughts dwell. But no child has been more cruelly and rapidly torn away from his mother, for He is God, and He exceeds all the limits she can imagine.

But I think there were also other moments, rapid and fleeting, where she perceives by faith that the Christ is her Son, her little one, and that He is God. She looks at him and she thinks: ‘This God is my child. This divine flesh is my flesh. He is made from me. He has my eyes and this shape of his mouth is the shape of mine. He looks like me. He is God and He looks like me.’

And no woman has had in this way, her God for herself alone, a God so small that one could take him in her arms and cover him with kisses, a God all warm who smiles and breathes, a God that one can touch and who laughs.

It is in one of those moments that I would paint Mary if I were a Painter.”

God bless and keep you in this new year.

Fr. Tim

Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Holy Family, what a team!. Mary, the mother, was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception), Joseph (a just and faith filled man) and Jesus, God in human flesh . . . it sounds like a household of Super Heroes. They’re certainly not like MY family.

Before we look at this saintly group, let’s look back a bit at the whole idea of “family”. That familiar picture we have: the house with the picket fence, the kids playing in the front yard;

mom, in her apron getting dinner ready and dad, just back from work, calling out “Honey, I’m home!” – – – is really a fairly recent view of a middle-class home.

To go back a thousand years or so, “family” was more like a “clan” or a
tribe. That African saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is evident in much of history. In primitive times, with dangers lurking in nature (lions!) and neighboring peoples (Those Hatfields!), an extended family was the best way to insure safety and a cooperative way of getting things done.

We see evidence of this in Jesus’ childhood. When he was 12, his whole “extended family” in Nazareth traveled by caravan to Jerusalem. Jesus was gone from Mary and Joseph for a day or so with no apparent concern from his parents. “As they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it, thinking he was in the caravan (with the rest of the relatives)” Luke 2:43, 44. They returned to Jerusalem and “after three days (!) they found him in the temple.”

So what does “family” look like today? It comes in many shapes and sizes.

Blended families, single parent families, extended, adopted etc. What does your family look like? Mine has shrunk somewhat. Mom and dad are gone over 10 years so the Horan’s are 3 (Patty, Tim, and Maureen). This is what I mean when I say “I’m visiting family”.

How about your family? Big? Small? Just you? We look at photo’s of Christmas’s past and we smile . . . or tear up a bit. Over the years family changes doesn’t it?

But something about belonging to a family never changes; it’s where we learn how to give and receive love. St. Pope John Paul called the family the “School of Love”. It’s where we learn to live for others and accept others kindness in turn. Family is where we help each other come to know the goodness of God. It’s been called the “Domestic Church”.

Now here’s the exciting part . . . real family, described above, can happen anywhere, with any group of people. Jesus himself pointed to this. Remember the story of Jesus preaching in a crowded house. “Someone told him, ‘your mother and brothers are standing outside wishing to speak with you.’” Jesus said in reply, ”who are my moth- er and brothers?” And stretching out his hand he said, “here is my (family). Whoever does the will of my Heavenly Father is mother, brother and sister to me.” Mt. 12: 48, 49.

It’s a new kind of family. One that is intended and sustained by the will of God. The Family of Christ. The Church in the widest sense, people of good will, seeking to love God and neighbor as Jesus has instructed us.

And guess what? This family is thicker than blood or ethnicity. It’s Father is our Heavenly Father; Mary is its mother. We all are God’s Children. Please help Holy Trinity Church be a part of Christ’s Family by the way we treat all who join us.

Welcome brother! Welcome sister!
Bless this Family.

Fr. Tim

I think I was 12 yrs. old when mom and dad took us on one of our rare family vacations. We went to Mammoth Cave in southern Kentucky. It is a magnificent cavern deep, deep in the ground, filled with stalactites and stalagmites and beautiful crystalline gems flashing brilliant colors throughout the cathedral like cavern.

There are many memories I have of this trip. One which sticks out the most, and one that still speaks to me fifty years later, is the sight of a school of brown trout swimming in an underground stream that flowed through the cave. Generations of these fish had lived on the floor of this darkened cave – – – dark, as in pitch black. Over time something very strange happened; with absolutely no light penetrating the cave these fish had lost their eyes. A thin round membrane covered what would have been the eye socket. It was natures way of saying “use ‘em or lose ‘em”.

So what’s this little Field and Stream article about? It’s about the light . . . and the dark. They are both at work in the world. Both would like to spread themselves as far as they can. Darkness is happiest when selfishness grows, anything that leads to fear and hopelessness is its friend. Despair and ultimately death are its kingdom. You and I feel its pull. We’re tempted to co-operate with the darkness because it’s easy and comfortable. We whisper things to ourselves like, “Who will know?”, “Everyone is doing it.”, “Oh what difference does it make?”, “It feels good, what’s wrong with it?” “God doesn’t care.” And all this likes to hide behind things and in corners that are . . . dark.

Light on the other hand wants to have a party. It invites everyone, no skin or race excluded. It is filled with joy because it is bathed in the truth and goodness.

It wants to see and be seen because what God has created is beautiful. It knows that the source of all that is . . is love. In this light we see and are seen, love and are loved. To walk in the light is why we were created.

Back to the fish for a minute. They too were created to see. But these fish had lived in darkness so long that they had lost their eyes. Darkness had blinded them permanently.

Likewise we humans were made to see, not just with the eyes in our head but by the light of our intellect we see this world. Jesus tells us “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). But what if, like the fish, we chose to live in darkness? What if we give up on living in the light? Can we lose our ability “to see?” Scripture points to this possibility. “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because of their deeds. . . (John 3:19).

Sooo? This Advent let’s choose the light. Where ever we go, whatever we are doing the choice is always there between light and darkness. (Do I rejoice in what is good or do I enjoy pointing out how bad things are? Am I willing to forgive or am I eager to “get even”? Do I stay faithful to my promise when things go bad or do I give up trying? Etc.)

As The Christopher’s Motto tells us “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

We light the fourth candle of Advent . . . soon He comes. See you at the Feast!

Fr. Tim

Webster defines joy as “a very glad feeling.” Theologians, as usual, complicate things by splitting joy in two: sensible joy and intellectual (spiritual) joy.

Sensible joy is easy to describe. Think of finishing your favorite meal done just the way you like it, or hearing your favorite song by the original band, or the smell of lilac on a sunny spring day. Joy may be either the action itself (the tasting, seeing, feeling) or the pleasant state that accompanies the achieving of this good thing. (This is the stuff we did for five years in the seminary!)

Spiritual joy is different. It may have similar feelings attached to it (gladness, cheeriness) but it goes deeper than something pleasing to the senses. It has its origin in an awareness of a “Good” that has been obtained through virtuous action.

For example swimmers exert themselves for months to train for the big meet. They experience joy when they see their efforts have paid off with their best time ever. The joy is in the awareness . . . “do you see what you have done? Your hard work has really paid off. You really are a fine swimmer! Let’s celebrate!!”

OR, you stuck with someone who was going through a hard time. Everyone was down on this person and any- one who hung out with them (you). You resisted all urges to run away and you never wavered in your friendship. Suddenly you both realize that this is what friendship really means. This is a joy!

Spiritual joy usually comes with some effort of the will, some “doing the right thing”. With little effort there is little joy.

So what are your moments of joy? Of laugh out loud happiness? A sense of wonder at this world’s beauty so strong it makes you choke up? Here’s a few of mine. What are yours?

Moments of Joy:

• Playing high school sports. There were moments when the joy of physical exertion and teamwork were indescribable.
• 21 yrs old. Standing on the 17th tee at Durand Eastman, suddenly knowing that Rochester is where I want- ed to live my life. (How did I know? I just did.)
• Handel’s Messiah. Pure joy. Also Samuel Barber’s “Adagio”. I can die in peace.
• A dream I had about God a long time ago. I can still feel what it was like.
• The change of seasons brings joy (and a sweet sadness sometimes which is a weird kind of joy too).
• Many memories of friends and their great kindnesses.
• The times (there have been many) of uncontrollable, fall on the ground, close to tears, laughter.
• Being a priest and seeing the Faith that crosses your face.
• Watching children be children. (A nine year old girl’s giggle . . . how can there not be a God?!).
• Knowing (because Christ said so) that it’s all going to turn out all right. Love wins. Darkness and hatred are on the losing team. Let’s spend this life doing the things He asked of us. This purpose in life brings joy.

Of course all moments of joy are simply a foretaste of the joy the Lord created us to experience . . . . the vision of the limitless beauty and goodness of God.

“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered the mind what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

Two weeks to go ……… wait ……………. Pray.

Fr. Tim

Advent (from the Latin, ad venio) means “to come” or “the coming”. It is a time when we begin to watch for something that we’re told is coming toward us. But for now . . . it’s not here yet.

This creates a tension that most of us don’t like. My eye wants to see “it”. The act of looking is a search for an object to lock onto. But when I look – – it’s not there.

So what do we do? If it’s important enough, we keep looking, which then becomes waiting. Waiting is not our favorite thing. We’ve tried over the past thirty years to do away with as much waiting as possible. Think of it: instant coffee, microwave cooking, fast food, 4G hook-ups, bar codes, email, computer banking, speed dating, etc. etc.

Ask any systems engineer and they will tell you that waiting is wasted time. It’s bad business. Time is money.

Then right in the middle of the busiest time of the year we have this totally contrary message from the Church. She tells us to “prepare”, to “expect”, to “hope for”, yes, to “long for”. Waiting is good she tells us. It’s a sign of love. We wait expectantly for that which we love.

And isn’t it the case that those things which are most precious are just the ones that cannot be hurried? Let’s be honest, waiting requires patience (Latin, “pati” – to suffer). Ask an expectant mother what waiting is all about.

There really is no other way to spin it. It takes endurance, strength, and forbearance to remain in a state of expectation. It stretches us. Proves our perseverance and our trust in that which is “coming”.

So what do we “do” in this time of waiting? A few suggestions:

• Be patient in whatever line you find yourself in (Hegedorns, DMV).
• Be kind to whoever is attending your line. –Drive friendly.
• Say your prayers in the morning (add about 2 minutes to just stare out your window.)
• Think of someone who’s having a hard time right now. Say a prayer for them.
• Give some money away.
• Reflect on a particular bad habit of yours. Use it to remind yourself to be patient with others.
• Take a ride in the country.
• Pray for loved ones lost.
• Help a young person believe in themself.

–Trust God to bring His good purpose to our human affairs.

God loves you. You are His child.

A Blessed Advent Sunday.
Fr. Tim

So here we go . . . the mad dash to Christmas. I’m sure you saw the pictures of people (perhaps you were there yourself) waiting in line to begin shopping.

Adding to the frenzy is the dismantling of the firewall around Thanksgiving. This holiday has traditionally been most pristine in observing family traditions — the parade, visits to grandparents, football, the table, the turkey, the prayer (“okay everybody say what they’re thankful for.”)

Not anymore. It’s just like any other day now. “Stores are open for your shopping convenience. Get a head start on your Christmas gift list. Have that turkey, then join us for our huge holiday savings!” One poor fellow was quoted in the paper, “I know it’s Thanksgiving but I have to buy my kids some stuff.”

Somehow we’ve gotten things out of order. The tail is wagging the dog.

There’s a remedy for this. It’s called Advent. These next four weeks are a time of waiting, reflecting, praying. It is a time where, with God’s humble birth soon to come, our hearts can soften and a freshness to life be restored. It is a joyful time of expectation. Advent is sort of like that happy buzz in the theatre while everyone waits for the curtain to go up.

So how can you celebrate “waiting”? What rituals help us understand “expectation”? Advent helps us experience what we call “less”. Or another way to express it . . . “without”. Here are some suggestions to help your Advent waiting. (I don’t mean to sound like a Grinch here but I think these will help prepare for the great Feast of Christmas).

Avoid the “Christmas Specials” on television . . . the ones that have Santa and huge happy endings with everyone singing and clapping. It’s not Christmas yet.

Avoid listening to the popular carols (Jingle Bells, We wish you a Merry C, Joy to the World, Silent Night, etc.). Christ hasn’t come yet. Handel’s Messiah is great Advent music.

“Small”, “Quiet”, “Slow” are good. (Big, Loud, and Fast tends to get us tense and anxious.)

Red and gold throughout the house says Christmas . . . try silver, blue and purple during Advent. I sound like Martha Stewart!!

“Secrets” are great ways to prepare for the Christ Child. Do something really nice for someone. Do it in such a way that they will never discover you were the one who did it!

Lower your expectations. This will NOT be. .“the best Christmas ever!” It will be good and holy in just the way God wants it to be for you . . . if you practice the Advent spirit.

Teach the children/grandchildren to appreciate the small and humble way God chose to come to us. Find some small little task to do with a child to “get ready” for the Feast. (Bring your child to church during the week; light a candle for someone they choose and say a prayer).

Sadness often comes at Advent. We’ve all suffered some loss that the season puts us in touch with. Let any Advent sadness we have soften our hearts for others. There is always someone who suffers more than me. Pray for them in the midst of your sadness.

You are your best gift to others. You can bring a new freshness to your affection for people. Let yourself be renewed by the wonderful quiet and smallness of Advent.

Go slow. God bless you!

Fr. Tim

I’m thinking of a spiritual lesson I’ve had to learn over and over in my life. It’s the simple fact that God wants all of me.

There’s a tension here. Everything I have has been given to me: parents, siblings, personality, talents . . . all gifts. The problem is I forget my very existence is given to me by God. I start thinking I’m in charge. It’s MY life. . . and I’ve got plans for me.

All this can work well so long, as my father used to say, “It squares with the Home Office”. In this case that’s God!

Chaffing under these limits to freedom, don’t we try to strike a deal with God? “Look Lord, I’ll keep the 10 Commandments as best I can, Mass on Sunday when schedules permit, and, what the heck, I’ll throw in a few bucks for the CMA.”

“But . . . don’t ask me to give you my habits or my preferences. I’ve spent a lifetime developing them: my bedtime, my cocktail, my personal time, a particular hobby, etc., all these are mine. I’ll do what I want with them.” “Got a problem with that?”

So God is patient. He lets us have our way. But see what happens. Habits and preferences (even the good ones) start to protect themselves. To the point where they start to run the show. We start living in a way that expects our habits to have no interference. (“What do you mean the plane is delayed?” OR “No coffee!!? That’s impossible!” OR “Take a walk? Can’t you see the Bills game is on?”)

Once again God lets us have our way. And I don’t know about you, but every time I start thinking “I’m a good guy–I don’t need God’s will to tell me what to do”… things get muddy.

It’s weird. I start out wanting a little “life for myself”. God won’t mind. And now I discover there’s a growing part of me that doesn’t want God interfering with my habits at all.

And look what’s happened to God. God becomes “the Law”, the cop in my rearview mirror. Our loving Creator is now a kill joy, someone to flee.

Poor God. How we twist things about Him. How we make Him out to be some grumpy boss who loves to order people around. Our vision of life slowly changes. Happiness is something to be grasped by ourselves. God is someone to flee. Adam and Eve hid themselves.

So what went wrong? We did. We failed to give God everything. Call it what you want . . . mistrust, selfishness, pride, arrogance . . . it’s all the same. It’s a voice that says, “NOBODY IS GOING TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO.” Quietly God calls to us but we’re not in the mood to listen.

Ever have that feeling? Ever hear yourself saying that? Welcome to this fallen world.

We’ve forgotten that God loves us. We’ve forgotten that, in His knowing love, He knows us better than we know ourselves. (If God had granted every wish or prayer I’ve made, I dread what I would have become!) And, get this.

God’s will is our true happiness! St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, prayed this prayer (The Suscipe) for God to have all of him. See what you think.

Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess, Thou hast given me: I surrender it all to Thee to be disposed of according to Thy will. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more. Amen.

Next Week Advent. We start all over!

Fr. Tim

It’s strange. Something that gives me comfort in the midst of our current world and national turmoil is the realization that some things are just out of my control. I’m not off the hook by any means. I must do my part. But how this all turns out – – – that’s in God’s hands.

So what are those issues that cause you to wonder just where this world is headed? What keeps you up at night worrying about the future your child or grandchild will experience?

I’ll bet it’s one of these:

• The possible impeachment of our president . . . and the radical polarization of the American people to- ward each other.
• The critical issue of foreign interference in our elections past and future.
• The serious instability of Mid-East nations – Syria, Iran, Ukraine.
• The nearly 3 million refugees currently seeking safety from corruption, war and hopeless poverty.
• Our broken immigration policy at the Southern Border and the haunting vision of parents and children being separated.
• The growing breach between rich and poor. (3% of the world’s population holds 85% of the world’s wealth.)
• Can we add . . . the Opioid Crisis, the Catholic Clergy Abuse Scandal? . . . and just for fun let’s throw in Global Climate Change.

Each one of these problems taunt us with their seeming insolvability. So what are we to do? Is there some foothold that stops this downward spiral? Has God abandoned us?

No. He has not abandoned us. And yes, He gave us foothold, (actually a rock!) against which “the jaws of death will not prevail.” Mt. 16:18. It is the rock of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

And what does this gospel say about all our troubles? Several things. First we ought not be surprised by the problems of life and human history. Jesus tells us, “In the world you will have trouble. But take courage. I have overcome the world.” Jn. 16:33.

That’s it in a nutshell really. God’s plan for the world has already been secured. He has overcome the world by Christ’s death and Resurrection.

There is no power on earth that can overcome the will of God to save the human race. Period.

The future (though there will be suffering along the way) has been won. Think of it. All the forces of darkness and sin gathered in one horrible day, and killed the King of Love. In fact the enemy of Christ is still at work in the world (see the list above). But it’s a losing battle . . . the love of God is the supreme and final reality. Death is overcome by a Love that is God Eternal.

However . . . the story (with its victorious ending) isn’t over. It needs you and me to do our duty. The final end of history will not happen without our imperfect cooperation. God wants us to share in the story He’s already completed! “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.” Mt. 6:33, 34.

This is a real act of Faith, isn’t it? (We don’t have the slightest notion of how this will turn out – only that God’s plan wins.) To trust in a victory that’s already happened; but one I cannot yet see. This Faith brings about the second great virtue – – Hope. (Read the beautiful passage of St. Paul in Romans 8:18-25), “And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory . . . and this hope does not disappoint (in spite of life’s sorrows) for God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us.” Romans 5:5.

We never give up hope. Never! Why? Because Christ has won the victory. Human history will complete itself in God’s good time. And when it does, you, who have longed for its coming, you battle scarred and wounded faithful, you will shout for joy.

Let us each do our part.

Fr. Tim