{"id":17973,"date":"2012-06-13T11:17:30","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T16:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=17973"},"modified":"2012-06-13T11:57:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T16:57:54","slug":"jesus-the-visitation-and-justin-bieber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/jesus-the-visitation-and-justin-bieber\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus, The Visitation and Justin Bieber"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday May 30th<\/sup>, frantic officials in Oslo Norway called in the red cross to curtail growing hysteria which left 19 hospitalized and 49 injured. This was not an earthquake or a terrorist attack. Norway had been ravaged by the kind of mindless hoards whom could have only resulted from the dreaded free Justin Bieber Concert.<\/p>\n

On Thursday (May 31st<\/sup>) Catholics in Austin, Texas prepared to celebrate a visit from the man solely responsible for the salvation of the entire world and His Blessed Mother. They failed to alert the red Cross. Austin made no special preparations for the ensuing celebrity hysteria. Is everyone ok?<\/em><\/p>\n

The story of the visitation is fairly simple. Shortly after the Angel informed Mary she would bear the Messiah, she hurried off to meet Elizabeth who was herself pregnant with John the Baptist.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: \u201cBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!<\/p>\n

Luke 1:41<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is really nothing in this story that\u2019s incredible. The spirit that flows through Mary fills all life with joy. Joyful babies leap. Joyful women shout. These events should come as no surprise. What should be surprising is how many times we are visited by Jesus today, and we never notice.
\n\"\"We are a sacramental church. The Catechism defines a sacrament as a perceptible sign that by the action of the Holy Spirit becomes efficaciously what it represents (CCC 10840).<\/strong> In other words the sacraments make Jesus present. In a sacramental world view we can find the true presence of Jesus in the signs that surround us. If you want to meet Jesus and his mother live in concert you don\u2019t have to wait for his next world tour, you\u2019re there right now. So why aren\u2019t we leaping?The disciples walked with Jesus for miles on their way to Emmaus, and didn\u2019t recognize Him. Saint Thomas wouldn\u2019t recognize the man in front of him as Jesus until he felt the holes in his hands. Jesus was interrogated and rejected by nearly all the religious leaders of his day before he became our cornerstone. Do we have more in common with them or with John?<\/p>\n

Only a pure heart can really see Jesus. Baby John had that heart, but most of us need ours back. For this, we can use the Sacraments. The Gospels assure us Jesus is known in the \u201cbreaking of the bread\u201c. When the sacraments transform ordinary objects in our presence, we are transformed in their presence. Slowly our hearts will become pure again. \u00a0Still, we also need practice.<\/p>\n

Jesus taught \u00a0that whatever we do for the least of our brothers we\u00a0 would do for Him. So if we hope to recognize our Lord, we must also open our hearts to the least among us. If we want to see Christ we should set our eyes on the sick and the suffering. If we hope to understand our Father, ruling in heaven, we should become informed situations like our brothers and sisters growing coffee in Latin America.<\/p>\n

We can only have faith in the life that pours through the womb of our Blessed Mother, if we leave no doubt in the life that grows inside the womb of all pregnant mothers.\u00a0 So my challenge to you\u00a0 is to hold a visitation with one of the least among us, and I hope you allow that visit to make you leap. Let your heart be moved and let you\u2019re actions follow.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean to pick on the Biebster too much. An entire generation of young girls can recognize Justin Bieber, and musical taste aside, there is nothing wrong with that. But knowing Justin Bieber\u2019s name won\u2019t get anyone into heaven. How about the man who passed you begging for change? Do you know his name? That might be a good start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday May 30th, frantic officials in Oslo Norway called in the red cross to curtail growing hysteria which left 19 hospitalized and 49 injured. This was not an earthquake or a terrorist attack. Norway had been ravaged by the kind of mindless hoards whom could have only resulted from the dreaded free Justin Bieber… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[91],"tags":[330,797,101],"class_list":{"0":"post-17973","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-young-adult","7":"tag-jesus","8":"tag-john-the-baptist","9":"tag-mary","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":188350,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/5-ways-to-celebrate-a-christmas-of-mercy\/","url_meta":{"origin":17973,"position":0},"title":"5 Ways to Celebrate a Christmas of Mercy","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"December 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m always amazed at the way most people in society are able to recognize the beauty of the celebration of Christmas, regardless of their religious perspectives. People are more open to discussions of morality and even of God. It seems appropriate for the season. This Christmas is unique among our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ChristmasofMercy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/ChristmasofMercy-550x275.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":116365,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/corpus-christi-procession-that-your-joy-may-be-complete-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":17973,"position":1},"title":"Corpus Christi Procession \u2013 \u201cThat Your Joy May Be Complete\u201d (Part 3)","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"May 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Corpus Christ procession is one of those cosmic events in our lives that recalls the words of Jesus, \u201cThat your joy may be complete.\u201d (Jn. 16:24) \u00a0In the gospel Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus in procession (Lk. 19: 1-9) and this encounter fills him with an over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","block_context":{"text":"Column","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/column\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Ecce_panis_angelorum_factus_cibus_viatorum-550x261.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110645,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/05\/homily-on-the-works-of-mercy\/","url_meta":{"origin":17973,"position":2},"title":"Homily on the Works of Mercy","author":"Deacon Guadalupe Rodriguez","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This homliy was given at St Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin, TX on April 30, 2015 in the fourth week of Easter [powerpress] Jesus in the priest and in the deacon as servant. Homily based on the Gospel of John 13:16-20 The Corporal Works of Mercy Feed the hungry Give\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jesus Washing Peter's Feet - Ford Madox Brown ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/JesusWashingDisciplesFeet-550x482.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/JesusWashingDisciplesFeet-550x482.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/JesusWashingDisciplesFeet-550x482.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":745067,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/a-traditional-st-joseph-altar-in-the-brazos-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":17973,"position":3},"title":"A traditional St. Joseph altar in the Brazos Valley","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"He is sweating in the morning sun, easily turning a huge table top over in a cloud of wood shavings. 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The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/events-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"St Joseph, Pray for us","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/StJosephtheWorker-550x625.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/StJosephtheWorker-550x625.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/StJosephtheWorker-550x625.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":331911,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/live-christmas-posada-community-first-village\/","url_meta":{"origin":17973,"position":5},"title":"“Live” Christmas Posada at Community First! 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Village located on 9301 Hog Eye Rd, Austin, TX 78724.\u00a0 Community First!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/events-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/LasPosadas.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17973\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}