Cathedral Of Our Lady Of Guadalupe Sunday Homilies

The Feast of the Holy Family-when carols in stores fall silent and Christmas trees show up on curbs-is the moment to sneak away from the hype and allow the heart to hope.

Jesus is "God with us". Since his conception in the womb of Mary, Jesus has brought the presence of God in our midst by becoming one of us. He continues to be with us in many ways, especially through the Eucharist.

Sin should be defined as "what is forgiven," because before we encounter the truth and goodness, the beauty and unity of God, there is only falsehood, the lack of goodness, and the ugliness of disorder in our lives.

Confession of sins to a priest does more than allow the confessor to see in. It's also a way for the soul to see out, to acknowledge a God larger than its own creation.

The Solemnity of Christ the King reminds us that our world needs more than any politician or program of action can offer. If needs a savior, one who can redeem our history.

As disciples of Christ, we are to await His coming with calm, persevering faith and with loving service of our neighbor.

Our Christian belief in resurrection, however, is more than a question of eternity quieting time. Resurrection is Christ claiming the ages as his own, redeeming them from oblivion, drawing them into his story, his own person.

Giving of ourselves is an essential aspect of the Christian life. To truly welcome others into our lives is to give of ourselves. This will also lead us to be more generous with the material blessing we have received from our loving God.

In Baptism we have been called to live as Disciples of the Lord Jesus. This is a profound call to live lives of prayer, hospitality, ongoing formation in the faith and loving service of our neighbor.

When we pray, we bring with us our whole being, with its joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. We also pray in gratitude for the gifts God has given us and we show gratitude to God by using those gifts in the service of others.

When we truly know how God has healed us through Christ, we respond with humble gratitude for the salvation we have received through God's mercy.

Our contribution to the parish also assists the needs of the church throughout the world.

When our lives our comfortable, we easily can be inattentive to the needs of others. The scriptures challenge us to avoid being complacent, but to be attentive and generous when others are in needs.

We often have worldly wisdom, but far more important is to be astute about the things of God. Do we do the things that will help us grow in our relationship with God?

When we are estranged from God through sin, God longs for us to return, waits for us with mercy and rejoices when we have repented and returned to Him.

Today's Gospel offers an easy example of a Scripture passage that can be incorporated into our prayer: It is a passage which can challenge us to ask what stands in the way of my being a disciple of Jesus.

We do not easily acknowledge our deep inner poverty. Awareness of our great need for God enables us to become a person of prayer.

Jesus is the narrow gate that leads to life. sin is the wide gate that leads to death.

We are sent out as disciples of Jesus to proclaim to others that joy we have found as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

If our faith in Christ is to become a blazing fire transforming our world, we must all begin to live holy lives. This conversion is brought about and nourished by deep, frequent prayers.