Happy New Year!  I hope that your celebration of the birth of Our Lord was a joyful occasion for you and yours.  

Have you ever taken a picture?  I am sure virtually all of us have.  Every camera has a lens.  Every picture taken is taken through the lens.  The lens has an impact on what we see.  If the lens is dirty, our pictures will be cloudy.  If there is a crack in the lens that will impair our view.

This is the last issue of The Catholic  Week before Christmas. I hope and pray that you and your family have a blessed Christmas.  You know, it is really stunning when we stop to realize what we are celebrating.  We had become alienated from God because of our sin.  While we were still sinners, the God of the universe stormed into human history so that He could reconcile us to the Father.

¡Bienvenidos al Adviento! Creo que es mi época favorita del año.  Ya no hace calor y las decoraciones están puestas.  Todo se siente festivo.

Welcome to Advent.  I think it is my favorite time of the year.  It isn’t hot anymore and decorations are up.  Everything just feels celebratory.

El Día de Acción de Gracias es dentro de unos días.  Podría decirse que es la festividad menos apreciada.  Me gustaría reflexionar un poco sobre el Día de Acción de Gracias mirando la curación de los 10 leprosos por parte de Jesús relatada en Lucas 17:11-19.

Thanksgiving is in just a few days.  It is arguably the most under-appreciated holidays.  I would like to reflect a bit on Thanksgiving by looking at the healing of the 10 lepers by Jesus recounted in Luke 17:11-19.

I have some great news for you.  One day you will die.   Is that good news?  Well if we understand who we are and what we are created for, yes it is in fact good news.  

Este será el último número antes del Día de Todos los Santos, por lo que quiero hablar un poco de esa fiesta.

This will be the last issue prior to All Saints Day, so I want to talk about that holiday just a bit.

¿Quién soy yo?  Supongo que todos nos lo hemos preguntado alguna vez en nuestra vida.  En nuestra cultura tendemos a responder a esta pregunta comunicando lo que hacemos.  Eso es problemático.  Lo que hago no es lo que soy.  Ciertamente hay una correlación, pero no son lo mismo. 

Who am I?  I guess we have all asked ourselves that at some point in our lives.  In our culture we tend to answer this question by communicating what we do.  That is problematic.  What I do is not who I am.  There is certainly a correlation, but they are not the same.

La última vez hablé de la frase "Dios es amor".  Hoy quiero discutir lo que Jesús dice en Mateo 5:48. Dice: "Sed, pues, perfectos, como vuestro Padre celestial es perfecto".  Esta línea viene al final de la enseñanza de Nuestro Señor sobre lo que se espera de Sus seguidores.  Deja claro que ha venido a cumplir y no a abolir la ley.  Luego aclara que no sólo debemos conformarnos externamente a Su Ley (de amor) sino que debemos conformarnos internamente a Su ley.  Nos dice que no podemos enojarnos con nuestros hermanos, no sólo abstenernos de asesinar.  Nos dice que no podemos tener lujuria, no sólo abstenernos de la actividad sexual inmoral.  Nos dice que tenemos que amar a nuestros enemigos, no sólo amar a los amigos.

Last time I discussed the phrase, “God is Love.”  Today I want to discuss what Jesus says in Matthew 5:48. He says, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  This line comes at the end of Our Lord teaching what is expected from His followers.  He makes it clear that He has come to fulfill and not to abolish the law.  Then He makes it clear that we must not just conform externally to His Law (of love) but that we must internally conform to His law.  He tells us we can’t grow angry with our brothers, not just refrain from murder.  He tells us we can’t lust, not just refrain from immoral sexual activity.  He tells us we have to love our enemies, not just love your friends.

Hace unas semanas escribí sobre algunas palabras o frases que usamos tan a menudo que pierden su impacto.  Por ejemplo, "Te amo". 

A few weeks ago I wrote about some words or phrases that we use so often that they lose their impact.  For example, “I love you.”  

‘Estoy demasiado ocupado para rezar".  Sé que todos hemos sentido eso en muchas ocasiones y quizás lo hemos escuchado de otros.  San Francisco de Sales dijo una vez: "Cada uno de nosotros necesita media hora de oración al día, excepto cuando estamos ocupados - entonces necesitamos una hora".

"I am too busy to pray.”  I know we have all felt that at many times and we have perhaps heard it from others.  St. Francis de Sales once said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy — then we need an hour.” 

Queridos padres, Espero que estén bien y que hayan disfrutado de un poco de tiempo de ocio con sus hijos y su cónyuge.  Nuestras vidas están llenas de obligaciones y tensiones.  Sé que requiere un esfuerzo hercúleo criar a sus hijos.  Gracias por hacerlo.  Quiero elogiar especialmente a aquellos que están haciendo solos este trabajo de dos personas.  Vaya.  No sé cómo lo hacen.

Dear parents, I hope you are doing well and I hope that you enjoyed a bit of recreational time with your children and your spouse.  Our lives are so filled with obligations and stresses.  I know it requires a Herculean effort to raise your children.  Thank you for doing it.  I especially want to commend those of you are doing this two-person job all by yourself.  Wow.  I don’t know how you do it.