At the Last Supper Jesus became the Paschal Lamb. At the time of the original Passover, the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts meant the Angel of Death would pass over the Israelites houses so that they might be freed from slavery. At the Last Supper, when Jesus proclaimed himself to be the Lamb of God and gave us his Body and Blood sacrificed on the wood of the cross, Jesus became our Paschal Lamb and freed us from Sin and everlasting Death.

The Greek verb ‘Menein’ appears 8 times in the first 8 verses of today’s Gospel passage (John 15:1-8). Why?

‘Menein’ means to remain, to stay, to abide, to live, to dwell, to be an integral part of... To continue the life of Jesus in our hearts, we must ‘remain’ in him. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. To bear fruit, we must remain, abide, stay, live, dwell, be an integral part of Jesus.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Most Jesuits make a fourth vow "to go anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice for the good of the mission of the Church." My fourth vow has blessed me with a global adventure from the Arctic to the Argentine; from the Pyramids of Teotihuacán to the Pyramids of Giza; from the Great Wall to the Wailing Wall; from the Yukon to the Mekong to the Amazon. What a wonderful, colorful, adventurous ride in the service of the Gospel of Love and Justice!

Today’s reading from Job gives me great consolation. Job praised the Lord when things were going right, but the angels were testing Job to see if his faith would hold up under hardship. Eventually, Job loses everything but his faith.

Our Parish, our country, the whole world is suffering from tremendous loss. We are all grieving from the effects of the pandemic. Rosaries, funerals, gravesides, isolation from loved ones and friends have been taking a tremendous toll. Many are anxious, depressed, edgy. Some are hopeless.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess 5:16). Today is Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. After centuries of oppression by the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and now the Romans, the people of Judah were awaiting the Messiah. Today’s readings point to hope and expectation that the coming of the Messiah is near. John the Baptist, or as Fr. Sauer has nicknamed him, 'Jack the Dipper', advises us that ‘One is coming after me whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie’ (Jn 1: 27).

Just as the world today is awaiting the imminent arrival of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic, so we must take precautions and prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus into our hearts every day, - especially at Christmas.

How did St. Ignatius get involved in education?

Born in 1491 the youngest of 13 children, Ignatius’ dad wanted to tuck him away in the seminary. Ignatius on the other hand wanted the romantic life of the Royal Circuit Court. In the Battle of Pamplona in 1521 Captain Ignatius suffered injuries to both legs. During his lengthy recovery, Ignatius went through a conversion and started working on his Spiritual Exercises. Not suited to his dream of a life in the Holy Land, at the age of 34, Ignatius decided to study for the priesthood and preach his Spiritual Exercises.