Video: A Christmas Message from Fr. Anthony

Please share this with anyone you think may need it.

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxQ5n8yuCls

Video: The "O" Antiphons

Here's my last video for this Advent season. I hope you enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QItMK-XJOM8&feature=youtu.be

I Love St. Lucy

Today, December 13, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Lucy. You may not be terribly familiar with St. Lucy, but she holds a very special place in my life as a priest and she will forever remain one of my all-time favorite saints.

Lucy was a young girl who lived during the late third and early fourth centuries, at a time when Christianity was still out-lawed by Roman government. Lucy decided to dedicate her life, her body, and her virginity entirely to Christ. Consequently, she enraged a young suitor by rejecting his advances; the suitor denounced her as a Christian and turned her over to the authorities (way to win a girl’s heart, buddy...). She was questioned and threatened with the worst sorts of torture and punishment if she did not renounce her faith, but Lucy remained unwavering. Her tormentors attempted to inflict all kinds of punishments on her but God made her body immovable so that the torturers could do nothing to her, until they finally pulled out their swords and ended her life.

Part of the legend around St. Lucy involves the story of her executioners removing her eyes as part of her torture, although they were miraculously restored. This is whence comes St. Lucy’s title as the patroness of eyesight. Scandinavian countries celebrate the feast of St. Lucy, whose name means “light”, with the tradition of having the oldest girl in the family dress in white with a red sash, white for her purity and red for her martyrdom, and wearing a wreath with lit candles. The young lady would often carry and distribute rolls and cookies to the rest of the family as part of the celebration.

I love the spirit of devotion and admiration for our Catholic heroes and heroines that inspire such pious celebrations; but above all, my admiration for Lucy stems from her willingness to give Christ everything, first her body as a virgin and then her whole life as a martyr. That is the kind of total self-surrendering with which we too need to give ourselves entirely to Jesus, and it is also the kind of devotion and fortitude that we especially need in our young people.  The courage and faith of this brave young girl should indeed serve as a light for us as we continue this season of Advent.

Pax Vobiscum

Video: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Here's my latest video, in honor of today, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOrbXxnxF1w

Video: St. Nicholas

Here is my second video, dedicated to today's saint, St. Nicholas. Also check out my post on St. Nicholas from last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK4fPXUbBsA&feature=youtu.be

Video: The Season of Advent

I am very pleased to announce my first ever YouTube video! It's on this beautiful season of Advent. More to come, enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ73CcMBg3s&feature=youtu.be

Divided We Fall

So. Donald Trump is our new president. Now what are we to do? I say, let’s all just take a deep breath. There are two extremes which trouble me that currently seem to be in vogue. The one that is getting the most attention is the protesting. Putting aside the violent outbreaks that have happened within these protests, let us simply take the protests themselves at face value. Let me begin by saying this: I understand. Really, I do. I understand the anger, I understand the fear, I understand the hurt. 

But here’s what I’m having a hard time with: the biggest “fruit” of this whole election has been one of division. Everywhere, division. Friends, families, communities, countries even. To which I can’t help but ask, “Is it really worth all that?” Are Trump and Clinton really worthy of all the discord we’ve suffered over them? I’d like to posit that what we need now as a country, and as citizens of that country, is unity. And on that note, I further can’t help but wonder what good comes from protesting an election that has already happened? To my mind, it serves no purpose but to continue the division, which is precisely what we don’t need right now. The cold, hard fact is that according to our method of voting, Donald Trump is the president-elect. We can move on and try to heal, or we can keep sowing seeds of division.

Having said all that, there is another camp, perhaps less obvious but very prevalent in the world of Catholic media, which celebrates the results of this election with a certain kind of triumphalism, as though we have all just won a great victory for the Pro-Life cause. Ummmmm.....really? Have we? At the very least, I think we need to wait and see. Now I certainly don’t want to mitigate the significance and weight of the abortion issue in this election, particularly for us as Catholics. However, I’m just not entirely sure that Donald Trump has presented himself in such a way that should make us as Catholics say, “Thank God, our hero has emerged victorious!”  Particularly in light of the fact that there are those who are genuinely shaken by the thought of Donald Trump as president. Again, it is a question of division versus unity. Which do we actually need?

Bottom-line: I feel as though there are two fundamental truths of which this election has made us lose sight. Number One: Hate is not good. I honestly feel as though this is something we have all forgotten, myself included. We hate Trump, we hate Clinton, we hate people who support one or the other. Wait, what? Why, in heaven’s name, is that necessary? Yes, this election was significant, and yes, we should care who the president is. But are we so attached to the world of politics that we allow hate to disrupt our daily lives? It is truly amazing how sensitive and even outraged we can be at another person’s hate and yet totally blind to our own. This is the point I’m trying to make about division. We don’t need hate; we don’t need division. And yes, even as I write this, I am painfully aware of how embarrassingly cliched this sounds, but the answer can only be love. Not the overly-sentimentalized version of love which just made you sick to your stomach when I used the word. The kind that is never trite or cliched. The kind that says, “I love you even when you don’t deserve it. Even when it hurts.” The kind of love with which Christ loves us.

Which brings me to Fundamental Truth Number Two: God is in charge. Worry, fear, anxiety-none of these are fruitful. This whole Chicken Little, “the world is over!”, type of mentality is not from God and does nothing for us as a country or a Church, not to mention our own peace of mind. Our faith is not in our politicians (thank God!). Our faith is in the God Who loves us even when we don’t deserve it, even when it hurts. I think this especially bears remembering in light of the feast of Christ the King of the Universe, which we have just celebrated. Donald Trump is only the President of the United States. Jesus Christ is King of the Universe. It’s all going to be okay.

Pax Vobiscum