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In this Sunday’s Gospel, John the Baptist does something extraordinary: he steps out of the
center and points entirely to Jesus. When he sees Jesus coming toward him, he proclaims,
“Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” With these words, John names Jesus not only as Messiah, but as the One who will offer his life for the salvation of all.

The image of the Lamb of God recalls the Passover lamb, whose blood saved the Israelites
from death. John is telling us that Jesus is the new and perfect sacrifice—not just for one
people, but for the whole world. This reminds us that Christ’s mission is rooted in love, mercy, and self-giving, not power or domination.

John also testifies that he saw the Spirit descend like a dove and remain on Jesus. This is
important: the Spirit does not simply visit Jesus and leave, but remains with Him. Jesus lives in complete communion with the Father and the Spirit. Because of this, Jesus is able to baptize not merely with water, but with the Holy Spirit—offering us new life, inner transformation, and a deep relationship with God.

Perhaps most humbling is John’s honesty: “I myself did not know him.” Even John, who was
chosen to prepare the way, needed God’s revelation to truly recognize Jesus. This can be
comforting for us. Faith is not about having everything figured out; it is about being open,
watching, and trusting God to reveal Himself in His time.

Finally, John declares, “I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” His role is
clear: to witness. Like John, we are called not to point to ourselves, but to Christ—to recognize Him in our lives and to testify through our words and actions that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

What strikes me most in this Gospel is that the Spirit descends on Jesus and remains with Him. That promise gives me hope. In my own life, I have experienced moments where God felt distant, yet this reading reassures me that the Holy Spirit remains with us, even when we struggle to recognize it. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit, offering strength, renewal, and guidance. Like John, I may not always fully understand God’s plan, but I can still testify to what I have seen: that Jesus is faithful, present, and truly the Son of God.

– Dolores Peltier-Corkey

Baptisms are moving ceremonies. The beauty and sweetness of the moment touch the soul, and the joy that one can palpably feel in parents, godparents, grandparents, sisters and brothers, family and friends move the heart. These alone are enough to feed and strengthen our spirits. But there is another level, a “more” to baptism: God is communicating an amazing grace to this person being baptized, whether an innocent newborn baby, or an older person receiving the promise of salvation, also to this one’s parents and godparents, family and, ultimately, to us all: belonging to the family of God, identity as child of God, and God’s commitment of love that is faithful for all eternity.

People were coming to be baptized in the River Jordan, by John the Baptist, as a personal choice, to signify their repentance. They were turning their lives around, from ways that were sinful, selfish, and destructive, to ways directed toward God, more intentionally living out God’s Law of Love, striving for righteousness, justice and peace. This commitment was enough to put them on the path of salvation. As all people of good will, striving to follow God’s Law of Love written in our hearts, this is the choice we make every day of our lives.

“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3.17). In the baptism of Jesus another meaning, a richer understanding of baptism is revealed. In his baptism, Jesus hears God name him Son and Beloved. God reveals to Jesus his own identity, chosen and loved by God in the most unbreakable, faithful commitment: Beloved. Our belonging to God’s family, as children of God, faithfully loved by our Father with unbreakable love, is the firm foundation on which our Christian identity is built. “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him” (Matthew 3.16). Our baptism is completed by confirmation, through which we receive the gifts and the grace to live out our Christian identity and to fulfill our mission, to be messengers and witnesses of God’s love to the world.

Love is not fragile. Love is strong, faithful and committed. Love is unbreakable.

– Fr. Gerry McDougall, SJ

An epiphany is a manifestation and realization of a truth, like an awakening to something that was formerly unknown, an “aha moment”. Today is the feast of the Epiphany, “a feast day celebrating the revelation God in Jesus Christ, to the world”. This feast celebrates the three Wise Men, also known as the Magi, who followed a star to discover God hidden in an infant, born among the animals in a stable. The star is a light that is visible in darkness, providing some light so we don’t walk in total darkness. They followed that tiny star and watched it as it grew, getting bigger as they got closer, and then they found the greatest treasure.

We can imagine that their nine-month journey through many deserts and various lands was not easy, but they felt the need to fill a void in their lives – because who in their right mind would leave everything to follow a star? Their journey can be likened to every person’s human life journey.  Within each of us is a yearning for something more, and many of us don’t know how to articulate what we’re missing, but we all know there is more to life. We might bury ourselves in work, unhealthy relationships, gambling, drugs and alcohol, fun and noise, or whatever will distract us from looking within to fill this inner void. These other things often lead us to problems and heartaches. Their fill doesn’t last long and the novelty wears off and they leave us feeling emptier. We, like the Magi, need to look to a higher sphere, to the more in life, and journey through the deserts, the ups and downs in life, as we search to fill the void that only God can fill.  As God fills our void, then we will become a light, like the star that the Magi followed, and we will be leading people who are searching to fill their void, to God through Jesus. We may be a dim light but, as our void becomes more filled with God, we will become brighter, as the Magi’s star got brighter as they neared Bethlehem.

“The Fourth Wise Man” is a fictional movie about another wise man who didn’t make it to the birth of Jesus, but stopped to help everyone along the way who needed help. There is nothing in scripture to say there was a fourth magi, but there is also nothing to say there wasn’t. Each of us can be that fourth wise person, spending our life in search of the King, using our gifts and treasures along the way for those around us, as we search to fill the void. When we find Him, we will have an “aha moment”.  (Watch the movie on YouTube.)

– Sr. Terry (Kateri) Beaudry

By Eddie MacDonald – Anishinabe Spiritual Centre

I am pleasantly surprised.  As each year passes, we often enter into the Advent season with a sense of knowing.  We see the Advent wreath, we know the theme of each candle: peace, hope, joy and love.  For me, I entered this Advent season knowing the general gist of Advent.  I know that it is about waiting for Christmas and waiting for the second coming.  I have even taught at schools and parishes about Advent being a time of acknowledging that Jesus is present!  Past, present and future! What a gift Advent is!  And that is it.  Now let’s get on to Christmas!

This year, like a veil being lifted from my eyes, I have learned about yet another layer to Advent.  I thought I knew it all!  I love it when the Lord gives something a new, deeper meaning for me.  Just like in today’s first reading from Isaiah, I have walked through this desert called my life, not knowing I was missing something until I find myself in this third week of Advent, in a blossoming desert!  The dryness, the emptiness of the desert being lifted and I am filled with Joy and Wonder!

Little did I know that the two Sundays before this one were actually penitential!  Those two purple candles represent peace and hope at a time of wandering through the desert of our life.  We search for peace and hope, yet we’re not really prepared for the encounter with Christ entering the world!  Just like during Lent, the purple, which I often associate with the King, during this season becomes penitential in nature.  A time when we prepare ourselves to meet the newborn King.  And that means really looking inward and asking the question: am I like the newborn-being, baptized, pure? As John the Baptist was pointing the way to Christ last week, he wasn’t just calling out the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he was calling out us!  We have to make straight our lives.  How do we do that?  How do we become pure once again?  We look at ourselves as God sees us, then, in search of peace in our core being, we go to confession.  We purify ourselves and we walk away with hope.  Hope that we are truly ready to meet him, as he enters the world – which he does every day at Mass.

The gears shift on this Gaudete Sunday, and Joy is found, in the anticipation of the great moment in time when God himself enters this world as a human infant.  This moment in time when all of the Old Testament is fulfilled.  This moment in time in which our Lord God, our Creator, made the decision to open up eternity to us all, coming into the world as one so small, so vulnerable.  No wonder John the Baptist questioned Christ: “are you the one?”  And the joy he must have felt when he heard about all the miracles Jesus had performed. 

Yes, He is the one.  The one we wait for with great anticipation.  Prepare the way for yourself, to meet the Lord this Christmas.

     At the beginning of Advent, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (on December 8^th), which shows how God prepared Mary from Nazareth to become the Mother of Jesus. While keeping His divinity hidden, being born in Bethlehem, Jesus shared with us the fullness of humanity albeit free of any sin. Consequently, His Mother had to be protected from Satan from the moment of her birth. She was exempted from the stain of original sin.

    After receiving such a great privilege, it was still up to Mary to say Yes or No to God’s plan revealed to her by the Archangel Gabriel. Although not fully understanding God’s message, she trusted Him entirely by choosing the first option.

    In Advent, John the Baptist, quoting the prophet Isaiah, exhorts us: “Prepare the way of the Lord”. Thanking God for preparing Mary to be a worthy Mother of God, and also for her cooperation in His salvation plan, let us beg Mary and Jesus to give us insights about our own unique tasks in the Creator’s great design. We need small conversions, moving from good to better, getting rid of any Pharisaic traces in our thoughts, words and actions. That will be a proper preparation for Christmas.

Fr. Toni Baranowski, SJ

Christ the King

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, of Heaven and Earth.

We gather this Sunday, as we have throughout the past liturgical year. We have come full circle with walking with the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We close off Year C and next Sunday we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A).

How have we grown through the scriptures this past year? How has Christ the King moved your spirit? What blessings did you experience and are most thankful for? We would be remiss if we don’t reflect on the hardships too.

Christ the King, the merciful God, encourages us to show mercy too as a good father does. This act of mercy allows us to become more loving and to come to the place of unconditional love. Yes we too got angry as Jesus did at the temple, but there is a change after the anger and disappointment. We forgive and embrace the other with love. Some even laugh about it.

Christ the King shows us mercy, as we are not perfect. We are reminded that we are sinners and a work in progress. With God as our guiding light we are shown the way of the truth.

Christ the King knows us better than anyone else. We come to church, we kneel before him and go over the thankfulness of the week, we ask for prayers for ourselves and others, and we ask for help for the upcoming week and for what worries us. Even though we have heard “your faith has made you well”, God hears our pleading. Let’s continue journeying with Jesus, Christ the King, by our side.

Margaret Tish Manitowabi

Yes, you read that correctly: today we are celebrating the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It probably sounds like a strange thing to be commemorated / celebrated. But if we consider that that church, the Lateran Basilica, is the oldest of the four major basilicas in Rome; that it is considered the “mother of all churches in the world”; and that it is “the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope”; then perhaps we see how a celebration is fitting.

Today’s feast prompts us to reflect on both the Church and churches. Regarding the Church, one description, from the Second Vatican Council, is that the Church is “the People of God”.

Another description of the Church, from Pope Francis, is that it is, or should be, a “field hospital”. A field hospital is a temporary hospital that is close to the battlefield or near the disaster zone. This image of the field hospital suggests that the Church should be out in the middle of the action – and should not only be in the church. At one point, Francis wrote: “I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets.” At another time, he said: “I see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful. I see the Church as a field hospital after battle.”

As we pray in the church and outside of it, let us pray that we may know how to be, and have the strength to be, a good Church!

Fr. Paul Robson, SJ

“We are Spirit Beings on a Human Journey” (attributed to Teilhard de Chardin)

Celebrating All Souls Day on a Sunday this year fits right in with a resurrection focused liturgy on Sunday. Our first reading is from the book of Wisdom, about the people who have died, reminding us not to see death as destruction, but rather as a transition. The writer tells us that God tested them like gold in a furnace and found them worthy through his grace and mercy, because they trusted in him. This is a clear indication that, just because we go through trials and tribulations in this life, it does not mean that God has forgotten us. We are being tested in a furnace and we will emerge like gold, and the fire (trials) may not always be as gruesome or hot as at other times. 

John, in the book of Revelation, brings us back to here and now, in a new heaven and a new earth. This message sounds very simple: “the home of God is among humans”. But do we fully realize the depths of this message? John writes about a “bride (which is earth and all that is in it) adorned for her husband (who is God the Creator Spirit)”. As in a marriage, where “the two become one flesh”, so God inhabits our earth bodies. God is in the earth and our Anishnabe ancestors knew and lived this. God is within us. If we realized and believed the enormity of this fact, our attitudes to everything and everyone around us would be different. All our façades and our imagined needs would be no more.

In the gospel, Jesus is fully aware of who he is, a human being infused with the Spirit of his Father, who is also our Father and our Creator.  We see the compassion and love of God in Jesus, the compassion to which we are also called. Perhaps Jesus is asking you and me to “arise”, as he said to the young man being carried out, “I say to you, rise!” What do we need to rise from or rise to, so that our spirits don’t have to wander too long once our spirit separates from our bodies? The saints are those who have completed their journey and reached their destination. We, the spirit beings still on the human journey, need to rise from the death of lies, pretentions, and all false beliefs of temporary gratifications that this world offers. Let us rise to truth, honesty, respect, courage; and to living the faith and to trusting in Jesus who is also our ancestor leading us.

– Sr. Terri (Kateri) Beaudry

Reflection by Eddie MacDonald

Sirach, one of my favorite writers of the Old Testament, always cuts to the chase.  There are no riddles with Sirach, just clear, direct teaching.  He is an Elder, sharing his wisdom with a young one.  Make no mistake, you have heard him correctly.  Today’s reading is no different: God hears the cry of the oppressed, the widow and the orphan.  The prayers of those who are humble and willing to serve will rise up and “pierce” through the heavens.  Sharply heard, a pierce causes action!  God responds immediately.

Paul writes that the Lord responds, when no one else is there for him and he feels lowly and abandoned.  Have you ever felt this way?  Paul felt God with him, saving him from evil.  It didn’t mean that he didn’t suffer, but through faith he felt at peace and was strengthened and found courage through the knowledge that he was being accompanied by God.  Why?  Because he humbled himself and asked.  He knew his prayers would pierce through the heavens and be heard.

This leads to our Gospel for today, the parable of the Pharisee (the man who held a high place of honor because he was well schooled in scripture and followed the rules step by step) and the tax collector.  The tax collector was getting by, doing his job, a job that had no honor.  Imagine the grandeur of the Pharisee, his perfect clothing, an air about him!  And the tax collector, an obvious sinner to all.  They both show up at the temple to give their offering and pray to the Lord God. 

The Pharisee scoffs at the tax collector, and he knows all the right words and actions.  Knowing that all who see him will be impressed by his dress and his manners.  He gets to sit at the front, and gives just what he thinks he should – a symbol of his wealth.  The tax collector, on the other hand, feels his feet freeze when it is his turn.  He is humbled and overwhelmed, realizing he is in the presence of God, the Creator of all!  Suddenly, he is overcome with grief and sadness, knowing the part he has taken in misusing God’s people.  His shame overwhelms him and his cry is sharp and heart felt: “Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner”.  Those who recognize their weakness and sin, and call out, will be heard.  Those who have no regard for heaven but live for the moment might miss out on eternity.  They have their reward now.

One of my most favorite prayers is the Jesus Prayer.  Short, simple and direct like Sirach.  “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  Sounds a bit like the tax collector, recognizing his sin; recognizing he is in the presence of the Son of the Creator; and asking for mercy.  Try this prayer, fill your days repeating it.  As you walk, as you drive.  Instead of listening to the radio, repeat this prayer.  The results are miraculous.  Let it move from your mouth to your head and finally to your heart. Walk humbly, knowing the mercy and presence of God beside you.

In the book of Exodus, we are given an image of the Lord helping his people to victory so long as their leaders’ hands are raised – a symbol of prayer and faith in the Lord. As soon as that droops, so too does the help of the Lord. This should not be construed as his not wanting to help, but rather, his respecting our free will, that he will only be present in such a way so long as we continue to ask/be in a true posture of openness to him.

Jesus in today’s parable makes a similar illustration. This is meant to encourage us to maintain this stance before the Lord, to persevere in our faithfulness. However, he also issues a challenge. Indeed, when he comes, whenever and however that may be, how will he find us? This is similar to his other sayings that caution us to constant vigilance, resilience and the like. Consider just how quickly things can drastically change forever in an instant. These teachings are meant to help us keep an even keel, in as much as we can, during such trials.

Returning to our first image in Exodus, we are taught that this task is not meant to be totally solitary. Just as Moses needed the assistance of Aaron and Hur, so too does each of us require the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ to remain steadfast. This benefit is not only for those directly involved, but has wider repercussions as well.

St. Paul elsewhere likewise mentions the importance of constant prayer and fellowship. Here though, he exhorts us not so much to speak constantly to God as to instead be attentive to what he says to us in Sacred Scripture – and to grow in and to share such fruits broadly. St. Jerome once famously said, “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Since we are seeking a meaningful relationship with Christ, perhaps part of our keeping his words to us today is to spend more time with him in Scripture and sharing it beyond only in church.

– Aaron Neiva