Thanksgiving and beyond!

Hey all!
So I hope we have all had a great Thanksgiving! I know I sure did. 
We are now moving into a new liturgical year and the start of the season of Advent.  Advent is a seen of anticipation and convertion.  We are called, as we have read in this week's gospel, to repent from our sinful ways and to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord.  Many of the readings that we will hear at Mass throughout this season come from the book of Isaiah.  So, I think it would be beneficial to take a little Advent crash-course through the Book of the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah is actually written by at least 2 authors (we don't know their actual names, so in the blessed name of tradition we will just call them Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 2).  Isaiah 1 writes to an Israelite people who are a school of fish out of water (BTW: Don't forget to feed our fish!).  The Israelites, just as they have throughout the entire history of their people, have fallen out of favor with God and it has landed them in servitude in Babylon.  Consequently, at this time in Israelite history, many of the old tradition are actually put to paper, so whenever someone asks who wrote the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, tell them some rabbi in Babylon.  The important thing to remember is that these people are looking for an identity.  What makes us Israelites so different, and God willing, so much more blessed than the barbaric and pagan Babylonians? These people eat pigs, for cryin' out loud! Well Isaiah 1 tells them all about the attrocious ways we had treated God before He allowed our people to be defeated by the Babylonians (this war took place about 80 years before Isaiah 1 wrote, so few people actually rememberred what had happened, and most of them had been born in Babylon, not their beloved Jerusalem).  Bottom line: the Israelites made some big mistakes that directly broke the covenant with God (reference: the entire Old Testament) and God was punishing them with exile in Babylon.
Enter Isaiah 2.  He writes an Advent poem (Comfort, O comfort ye people of Israel!) which tells them of the end of their suffering at the hands of God.  There time in exile is up, and God will soon be sending a Messiah to return them to Jerusalem. Shortly there after Babylon was destroyed and the Persian king, Cyrus, allowed the nation of Israel to return through the desert to their beloved Zion. 
What is important about the story of the Israelites' exile in Babylon? Do we ever feel like we have lost ourselves because of our failure to uphold our end of the bargain with God (i.e. those moments as we look in the mirror after a nice sequence of sins and do not recognize the person staring back at us)?  Is our preparation for the coming of our savior one of scrambling to make our homes presentable (hurry up and quit lying to your mom and dad), or is one of comfort and at long last a restoration of our identity?  Who is it that can bring us back across the desert and into our long forsaken homes?

Dear Friends,
Today, I would like to write a few thoughts concerning unity. In particular, I would like to ponder and encourage the idea of family unity.

We do not have to look far and wide to see that people are oftentimes living for themselves and abandoning relationships that they have with their spouses, children, parents and siblings. There are many reasons for this state of being. Some people have the false notion that their lives are solely their own and they answer to no one. Other people place a higher value on material goods and "fun time friends" than a good relationship with family. Sometimes, our super busy schedule impedes on time that we might spend in the love and company of our families. Let me assure you, my friends, that this is not the plan that God has for us.

God placed us in our families specifically to grow in love. It is in our families that we begin to learn to love other people and we begin to understand the deep and abiding love that our Father in Heaven has for each one of us. When there is family unity, the members of that family experience a steady flow of love, grace and acceptance. When God is the center of our family and we include him in the daily events of our lives, our families become anchored in His love and we are able to experience His strength, patience and calm even when we are faced with turmoil and tough times.

These thoughts on family unity are all well and good but how can we strengthen and improve the relationships we have with our family members. My friends, we can begin this holy endeavor by turning our hearts and minds toward Christ in prayer. Prayer will bring unity to a family in a swift manner. If a family makes a decision to make family prayer a priority, Christ can bestow many graces and peace to that home.

My friends, choose Christ, today, tomorrow and everyday. He will never abandon you and his love will sustain you even in the most difficult of times. Be Christ for others. Let your love and goodness be the light that brings others to a closer relationship with God.

Peace My Friends,
Anthony

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…

The words are so familiar, we often rattle them off without even realizing what we are saying. My son is going through preparations for First Communion. As part of the first class, parents were supposed to talk with their child about what the words of the “Our Father” meant. As I began to discuss what each phrase meant, I quickly realized that this was a perfect catalyst for a deeper sharing of what my beliefs really are with my son. We did not get even past the first phrase before the moderator said it was time to move on. After the meeting, my son and I stopped at a gas station and picked out some Skittles for him and a slushy for me. We ate and drank our treats on a park bench as we finished discussing this prayer that our LORD gave us.

In our discussion, one phrase really stood out and summed up the rest of the prayer: “Hallowed be thy name.” To be “hallowed” means to be sacred, to be holy, to be something special. For example, in his address at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln referred to the ground having been “hallowed” or “consecrated” by the soldiers who fought and died there. The “Thy Name” refers to God’s name, YHWH. Even to this day, the Jewish people treat that name, which translates to “I am who am,” with such reverence that they do not even pronounce it, they say “adonai” (LORD) instead. During Jesus’ time, the only time it was allowed to be spoken out loud was on the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, by the high priest, who would go into the Holy of Holies, (the holiest room in the temple), and whisper it. So the Jewish people treated God’s name with such reverence that only the high priest, (who was hopefully the holiest person), would say it once on the holiest day of the year in the holiest room of the temple, in other words, on the holiest spot on the planet.

So, God’s name is to be kept holy by being treated with reverence. But the questions arise, “By whom?” and “How?” Undoubtedly, we are the ones to keep God’s name holy, so how do we do that? Following the second of the Ten Commandments, “Do not use the LORD’s name in vain,” is a start. We don’t use God’s name to curse someone or something that makes us mad. Think about it, would you like your own name to be used and associated with moments of anger and hatred? Now imagine if you were a being of complete selfless love, (such as God is), having your name be used for hate would be pretty offensive.

However, keeping God’s name holy means more than just not swearing. Every single one of us were told at our Baptism that we have “put on Christ.” Indeed, that is why we are called “Christians,” because we have taken on the name of Christ. If we, ourselves, have taken on the name of Christ, then we also keep God’s name holy by how we act and how we live. The old saying comes to mind: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” If I do something evil, then I am profaning the Christian name, Christ’s name, and in so doing, I am profaning God’s name; I am not keeping it holy! If the ancient Israelites had such a devout respect for God’s name that they only said it once a year in a whisper on the holiest day of the year, on the holiest place on earth, by the holiest person, then those of us who call ourselves by God’s name today need to make sure we are living up to that Name with the same measure of devotion!

So next time you pray the Our Father, ask yourself “Am I keeping God’s Name holy?” Pray it in the morning and ask yourself, “What am I going to do today to make God’s name holy?”