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

Soldier's Poem

Twas the night before Christmas,
He lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of
Plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney
With presents to give,
And to see just who
In this home did live.

I looked all about,
A strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures
Of far distant lands.

With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober thought
Came through my mind.

For this house was different,
It was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor
In this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured
A United States soldier.

Was this the hero
Of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?

I realized the families
That I saw this night,
Owed their lives to these soldiers
Who were willing to fight.

Soon round the world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate
A bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom
Each month of the year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas eve
In a land far from home.

The very thought
Brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees
And started to cry.

The soldier awakened
and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
This life is my choice;

I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my god,
My country, my corps."

The soldier rolled over
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still
And we both shivered
From the cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave
On that cold, dark, night,
This guardian of honor
So willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice soft and pure,
Whispered, "carry on Santa,
It's Christmas day, all is secure."

One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night."

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.

In Search of Our Kneeling Places

In Search of Our Kneeling Places
by Ann Weems

In each heart lies a Bethlehem,
an inn where we must ultimately answer
whether there is room or not.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
we experience our own advent in his.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
we can no longer look the other way
conveniently not seeing stars
not hearing angel voices.
We can no longer excuse ourselves by busily
tending our sheep or our kingdoms.

This Advent let's go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us.
In the midst of shopping sprees
let's ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.
Through the tinsel
let's look for the gold of the Christmas Star.
In the excitement and confusion, in the merry chaos,
let's listen for the brush of angels' wings.
This Advent, let's go to Bethlehem
and find our kneeling places.

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.

The Gifts I'd Leave

 

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.

Awakening the Christ Child

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son, from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~ John 1:14

The power of Christmas is not automatic. It can't be taken for granted. It has to be given birth, nursed, coaxed, and lovingly cajoled into effectiveness. The baby Jesus doesn't save the world, the adult Christ does and our task is to turn the baby Jesus into the adult Christ. We need to do that in our own bodies and with our own lives.

As Annie Dillard once put it, the Christ we find in our lives is always found as he was found at the first Christmas, a helpless infant, lying in the straw, someone who needs to be picked up and coaxed into adulthood. To make Christ effective, we need, ourselves, to become "the body of Christ".

To put it metaphorically, the Christ-child has to be awakened by us. We need to go to the manger and awaken the child.

We awaken the child by inducing it to smile. How's that done? Where is the Christ-child? In terms of an icon, the Christ-child is in the crib, but, in terms of spirituality, the Christ-child appears in our lives in a different way.

When Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit - defined as charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, longsuffering, fidelity, gentleness, and chastity - then obviously the child she gestated will radiate those qualities. We awaken the Christ-child when we smile at charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, longsuffering, fidelity, gentleness, and chastity until they begin to smile back. What comes back is the power of Christmas, a baby's power to transform a heart, divine power hidden in human weakness.

We have to help make Christmas happen.

Loch Ness

An atheist was fishing on Loch Ness when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. With an easy flip, the beast tossed his boat high into the air and then opened its huge mouth to catch him. As he sailed into the sky, he cried, “Oh, God! Help me!” At once, the ferocious scene froze! As the atheist hung there in mid-air a booming voice came out of the clouds: “I thought you didn’t believe in Me!” “Come on, God. Give me a break!” pleaded the man. “A minute ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness monster either!”

4th Sunday of Advent

The Gospel for today and for the Christmas Vigil Mass, Matthew 1: 18-24, focuses our attention on St. Joseph, the silent man of the New Testament. Angels bring heavenly greetings. Mary sings the Magnificat. Shepherds keep vigilant watch. Wise men bring gifts and worship. Joseph is silent, obedient, observant and faithful. Although St. Joseph does not speak one word in scripture, he has a crucial role in the great mystery of the incarnation. He is the unsung hero of the Christmas story and of Jesus’ early life in our world.

Through Joseph, God protected the unborn life of Jesus. Through Joseph, God protected the baby Jesus from Herod. Through Joseph, God provided a secure home in which Jesus grew and developed. Moreover, through Joseph, God prepared Jesus for life in this world. Just as God chose Mary to be the mother of His son, He chose Joseph to be the earthly father of his son. God entrusted Jesus to the care of Joseph. God trusted Joseph.

As we enter into our Christmas celebrations let us remember our own unsung heroes, the people who protect us, the people who keep us secure and the people who prepare us to live the fullest lives possible. Remember our troops who are celebrating the birth of Jesus far from home in various places around the world. Remember our police officers, firefighters, healthcare workers and other civil servants who are working this holiday so that we can celebrate the Feast of Christ’s birth secure in the knowledge that we are safe. Remember those who have guided us through life, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, teachers, counselors, friends, priests, religious sisters and brothers, deacons and all the people who have revealed Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us, here and now.

My prayer for this Christmas is that we, like St. Joseph, will welcome Jesus into our hearts fully and unconditionally.

Eternal God, in the psalms of David, 

in the words of the prophets, 

in the dream of Joseph your promise is spoken. 

At last, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, 

your Word takes flesh. 

Teach us to welcome Jesus, the promised Emmanuel, 

and to preach the good news of his coming, 

that every age may know him

 as the source of redemption and grace. 

Grant this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who lives and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

May You be "Christmas" Every Day

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

Reflections on a Christmas Tree

Look closely at a Christmas tree today – bare and perhaps covered with snow. Trees are often bent, broken, missing limbs, missing leaves, plagued by pests, scared by lightening, etc. Perhaps that is how you sometimes view yourself. When you focus on the broken limbs and knots, you see only the “mistakes” of the tree. But do you also see how they add to the beauty and majesty of the tree? Step back and look at how beautiful it is.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are a tree. On your broken, flawed imperfect tree, put an ornament for every sacrifice you have made for strangers. Put a light on your tree for every act of love you have done in God’s name. Place an ornament on the tree for every good deed you have done or for every time you turned away from evil. Put a gift under the tree for every time you have done something nice for one of God’s children.

What does your tree look like now?

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.

3rd Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin word that means “rejoice.” Our entrance antiphon today calls us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” And tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. Many people in North, South and Central America who are devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe will celebrate this wonderful feast. In Mexico the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a national holiday. Right now millions of people are surrounding the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, some having traveled on foot for days to get there, singing, dancing, praying and paying homage to their spiritual mother.

In today’s gospel, Matthew 11:2-11, Jesus assures John the Baptist and his disciples that he is “the one” and that John’s role as the messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord has been fulfilled. Jesus also praises John’s work saying, “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). Just as John the Baptist was the messenger of repentance and hope to the children of Israel, so too was Our Lady of Guadalupe a messenger of hope and redemption to the indigenous people of the Americas. She played a remarkable role in the evangelization of the New World.

The role of messenger did not end with John the Baptist or with our Lady of Guadalupe. Over the centuries countless messengers have gone out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. As baptized Christians and citizens of the kingdom of heaven, each one of us is called to prepare the way of the Lord in our own hearts and minds and in the hearts and minds of everyone we encounter. This is an important responsibility and one we should take very seriously. After all, Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist, his own disciples and he tells us that, “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than” John the Baptist.

And so on this Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, we rejoice and thank God for the gift of his Son, Jesus the Christ who came into our world to save us. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.”

God of peace,

Whose word is good news for the oppressed,

healing for the brokenhearted,

and freedom for all who are held bound;

gladden our hearts and fashion the earth

into a garden of righteousness and praise.

Sanctify us in spirit, soul and body,

so that we may generously prepare the way for your Son,

our Lord Jesus Christ, who was,

who is and who is to come,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN

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

As Advent Unfolds

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life.  (Psalm 27:4)

As Advent unfolds, we long for the Savior who will bring forth a new creation and present a kingdom of justice, mercy, and peace to the eternal Father. The Lord revealed His coming presence over time. When on earth, He revealed himself in various ways. Some, like these blind men, called out to Him as Messiah, the Son of David; others, like the woman who touched His cloak, had their quietly-held belief; Nicodemus came at night and the Centurion professed his faith at the foot of the cross.

Advent is about waiting, longing, searching for the Lord of my life, to have Him come anew, to grant me healing mercy and deeper faith. It is about needing a savior, my life's refuge, and the need of all people for a Savior: “Prepare ye, the way of the Lord.” The Lord reveals Himself in various ways, as presently now in the Eucharist, the Word, in prayer and in the communion of believers.

Cultivate patient waiting. What are the Lord's ways in your life? What message should we take to others?

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 

(Psalm 27:13)

Silent Tear

 

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings today for the Second Sunday of Advent present us with two dramatically different images of trees. In the first reading from Isaiah 11:1-10 the prophet tells us about a shoot sprouting from the stump of Jesse (King David’s father). This shoot will blossom into a new Davidic King upon whom the Spirit of the Lord will rest imbuing the new king with the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. The new king will rule over a glorious kingdom where peace and justice will prevail.

Fast forward seven hundred years or so to St Matthew’s gospel as he introduces us to John the Baptist, Matthew 3:1-12. In a confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees John the Baptist likens them to a “brood of vipers” and he chastises them because they do not produce “good fruit.” He compares them to trees with an ax at their roots. And he tells them and reminds us that “every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” So what constitutes good fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23 St. Paul describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Without these qualities our lives are bleak.

It takes time, discipline and patience to produce good fruit. It doesn’t just happen. It has to overcome weather, bugs, weeds, poor soil and neglect. The land has to be tilled, the bugs sprayed, the weeds pulled, the trees nourished and pruned. There is no way we can manufacture the fruit of the Spirit on our own. We need scripture and the Eucharist to nourish us. We need the Sacrament of Reconciliation to pull out the weeds of our sin and we need the Holy Spirit to prune away whatever it is that hinders our growth and then empower us to make the choices that move us closer to that glorious kingdom Isaiah described in the first reading.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist calls us to repent with sincere hearts and to produce good fruit as evidence of our repentance. The Prophet Jeremiah said, "Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on. Such a person is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

Stir up within us, 

O God of peace and mercy, 

a sincere desire for repentance, 

that, baptized with the Holy Spirit 

and enkindled by the fire of your love, 

we may bring to every situation 

the justice, gentleness and peace 

that the incarnation of your Word 

has caused to sprout and blossom upon the earth. 

Grant this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who lives and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

God for ever and ever.

AMEN