Ault Lang Syne

"Auld Lang Syne" is a song that is traditional to the New Year and has been sung and toasted at midnight on New Year's Eve for generations. The song began as a poem written in 1778 by Robert Burns, which he set to folk melody.

The message of "Auld Lang Syne" is that we should not forget our friends from times past, and the song sings of two old friends who haven't seen each other for a while, meet and share a reminiscing of past memories.

To me, the song signifies letting go of the last year and what it represented. Often, good friends or family move away, which leaves us with a sense of a loss and void that is not easy to fill. Out with the old and in with the new can sometimes be tough. New situations are sometimes faced with ambiguous feelings, with more than a little anxiety lagging behind. Healing is not easy.

The truth is that healing is a powerful choice, and the commitment to heal is the first step in recovery and wellness. As the year 2022 ends and the New Year 2023 begins, let us hope all our endings lead us to a healthier, happier, and a blessed future.

Mary, Mother of God

Happy New Year!

The Roman Catholic Church observes the Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God and World Day of Peace on the first day of every year. St Paul VI established World Day of Peace in 1967 and affirmed The Solemnity of Mary the Holy Mother of God in 1969. He explained these actions in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus in 1974. He said, “In the revised ordering of the Christmas period it seems to us that the attention of all should be directed towards the restored Solemnity of Mary the holy Mother of God. This celebration, placed on January 1 in conformity with the ancient indication of the liturgy of the City of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the ‘holy Mother...through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life.’ It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace. It is for this reason that, in the happy concurrence of the Octave of Christmas and the first day of the year, we have instituted the World Day of Peace, an occasion that is gaining increasing support and already bringing forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many.”

Bringing the celebration forward fifty-five years, what does it mean for us, today on January 1, 2023? Our world is just as turbulent today as it was on January 1, 1968 (the first celebration of World Day of Peace). Chris Hedges, a former war correspondent and now a Presbyterian minister observed that “Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.” And, “At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion.” These statistics are overwhelming. So, what can we do here in Peachtree City to “bring forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many”?

We all can play our part in the effort to achieve peace.

• We can pray for peace every day merging our prayers with the prayers of people all over the world · We can learn about peace by studying documents like Pacem in Terris (April, 11 1963) by Pope St John XXIII.

• We can act for peace starting in our own homes with our own families, we can act for peace in our parish and in our local community. We can be peaceful people.

Last year on January 1, 2022, Pope Francis Tweeted this message, “All can work together to build a more peaceful world, starting from the hearts of individuals and relationships in the family, then within society and with the environment, and all the way up to relationships between peoples and nations.”

Let’s all become agents of Peace inspired by Mary, Queen of Peace and her Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace,

who are yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, 

“Peace to you,” grant us peace.

Make all men and women witnesses 

of truth, justice, and brotherly love. 

Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.

Enlighten our rulers 

that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.

May all peoples of the earth become as brothers and sisters.

May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.

— St. John XXIII

Praying to See God's Glory

 Familiarity breeds contempt. It also blocks the mystery of Christmas by breeding a view of the life that cannot see divinity within humanity. 

All of us are hopelessly prone to see most everything in an over-familiar way, namely, in a way that sees little or nothing of the deep richness and divinity that is shimmering everywhere under the surface. G.K. Chesterton, reflecting on this, once declared that one of the deep secrets of life is to learn to look at things familiar until they look unfamiliar again. 

We are all challenged to learn the secret of seeing the extraordinary inside of the ordinary, of seeing divinity shimmering inside of humanity, and of seeing haloes around familiar faces. 

Thomas Merton shares how he once had a quasi-mystical experience of this in the most ordinary of circumstances. He had been living in a Trappist monastery outside of Louisville, Kentucky, for nearly 20 years and one day needed to go into Louisville for a medical appointment. He was standing at the intersection of Fourth and Walnut, when suddenly the ordinary changed into the extraordinary. 

Everyone around him began to shimmer with a deep, divine radiance. They were all walking around, he wrote, “shining like the sun.” And he adds: “Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed…I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.” 

This kind of vision, seeing the world as transfigured with haloes around familiar faces, is ultimately the meaning of Christmas, the meaning of the incarnation, and the mystery of God walking around in human flesh. Christmas is not so much a celebration of Jesus’ birthday as it is a celebration of the continued birth of God into human flesh, the continuation of the divine making itself manifest in the ordinary; God, a helpless baby in a barn​.

(Ron Rolheiser)

Nativity of the Lord

Merry Christmas!

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is the beginning of a great story with a large cast of characters. Of course, Mary and Joseph are there along with Angels, a multitude of the heavenly host, Shepherds and the Magi. The Angels proclaim "good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). The heavenly host cry out "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests" (Luke 2:14). The shepherds visit the Holy Family and then spread the good news throughout their community all the while "glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen" (Luke 2:20). The Magi make a treacherous journey to find the "newborn king of the Jews" so they could "do him homage" and present gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Nativity scene is complete. However, there is much more to this story.

After all this glorious activity, everyone leaves and Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus are left alone to fend for themselves. This is where our readings for the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph on Friday, December 30 begin. Now Jesus, Mary and Joseph must face the realities of a cruel and dangerous world. They must flee Bethlehem at night for fear of Herod's persecution and become refugees in Egypt. Even after Herod's death, they cannot return home to Judea but must seek refuge in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Fortunately for the Holy Family, they were not totally alone. They had an open relationship with God the Father, they listened to God’s messages and warnings and they acted accordingly. For Mary and Joseph in particular, their lives were focused and centered on caring for and nurturing God’s son Jesus Christ.

My prayer for all families this Christmas season is that Jesus Christ will be the heart and center of your lives. And that when you encounter the trials and tribulations of life you will turn to the wonderful guidelines St. Paul provides us in Colossians 3:12-21 for Christian family survival: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.”

Loving God, 

guardian of our homes,
when you entrusted your Son
to the care of Mary and Joseph,
you did not spare them the pains
that touch the life of every family.
Teach us to rely on your word,
that in our trials as in our joys
we may be clothed in gentleness and patience
and united in love.
With the Holy Family of Nazareth,

may we seek your will in all we do.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen

If You Look for me at Christmas

If you look for me at Christmas,
you won't need a special star -
I'm no longer just in Bethlehem,
I'm right there where you are.

You may not be aware of Me
Amid the celebrations -
You'll have to look beyond the stores
and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment
from your list of things to do
And listen to your heart, you'll find
I'm waiting there for you.

You're the one I want to be with,
you're the reason that I came,
And you'll find Me in the stillness
as I'm whispering your name.

The Tablecloth

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On Dec 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow.

An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry.

The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church.

The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid Who says God does not work in mysterious ways.

I Felt it Melt my Heart

Snowflakes softly falling,
Upon your window they play.
Your blankets snug around you,
Into sleep you drift away.

I bend to gently kiss you,
when I see that on the floor.
there's a letter, neatly written.
I wonder who it's for.

I quietly unfold it,
making sure you're still asleep.
It's a Christmas list for Santa
one my heart will always keep.

It started just as always,
with the toys seen on TV.
A new watch for your father
and a winter coat for me.

But as my eyes read on,
I could see that deep inside.
There were many things you wished for,
that your loving heart would hide.

You asked if your friend Molly,
could have another Dad;
It seems her father hits her,
and it makes you very sad.

Then you asked dear Santa,
if the neighbors down the street
Could find a job, that he might have
some food, and clothes, and heat.

You saw a family on the news
whose house had blown away,
"Dear Santa, send them just one thing,
a place where they can stay."

"And Santa, those four cookies that,
I left you for a treat.
Could you take them to the children
who have nothing else to eat?"

"Do you know that little bear I have,
the one I love so dear?
I'm leaving it for you to take,
to Africa this year".

"And as you fly your reindeer,
on this night of Jesus' birth.
Could your magic bring to everyone,
goodwill and peace on earth".

"There's one last thing before you go,
so grateful I would be.
If you'd smile at Baby Jesus,
in the manger by our tree."

I pulled the letter close to me,
I felt it melt my heart.
Those tiny hands had written,
what no other could impart.

"And a little child shall lead them,"
was whispered in my ear.
As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve
while Santa Claus was here.

May You be "Christmas" Every Day

You Have to Go to Church

A mother woke her son up on Sunday morning and told him he needed to get ready to go to church. The son replied to his mother that he didn't want to go to church this morning. She told him nonsense he should get up and go to church.

"But mom" he replied, "Everybody hates me, the sermons are boring and none of my friends ever come."

His mother replied, "Now, son...! First, everybody doesn't hate you, there are only a couple of bullies and you just have to stand up to them. Second, the sermons mean a lot to many people. If you listened to them, you'd be surprised at how good they are in helping people. Third, you have lots of friends at church. They are always having you over to their house. And finally, you have to go, because you're the priest!

Spirit of Christmas

To catch the real meaning of the "Spirit of Christmas," we need only to drop the last syllable of the word, and it becomes the "Spirit of Christ." It beckons us to follow him, and become worthy of the blessedness which he promised to the most unlikely people-the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the meek, the seekers after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even the persecuted and the oppressed.

Christmas List

 This Christmas 

• Mend a quarrel
• Seek out a forgotten friend
• Share some treasure
• Give a soft answer
• Encourage youth Keep a promise
• Find the time
• Listen
• Apologize if you were wrong
• Be gentle
• Laugh a little
• Laugh a little more
• Express your gratitude
• Welcome a stranger
• Gladden the heart of a child
• Take pleasure in the beauty
• and wonder of the earth
• Speak your love
• Speak it again
• Speak it still once again

Peace – Hope – Joy – Love to You

Who Started Christmas

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff.

When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him."

For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

Christmas Commandments`

1. You shall not leave ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, making it ‘Xmas.’ To some, ‘X’ is unknown.

2. You shall prepare your soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that your soul is forgotten.

3. You shall not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.

4. You shall not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.

5. You shall give yourself with your gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and the one who receives it shall treasure it forever.

6. You shall not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.

7. You shall not neglect the needy. Share your blessings with many who will go hungry and cold if you are generous.

8. You shall not neglect your church. Its services highlight the true meaning of the season.

9. You shall be as a little child. Not until you become in spirit as a little one are you ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

10. You shall give your heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of your Christmas list.

Anyone keeping these commandments is sure to have a blessed Christmas.

Ben Franklin

Silent Tear