So Amazingly Appropriate

Today's First Reading:
Heb 6:10-20

Brothers and sisters:
God is not unjust so as to overlook your work
and the love you have demonstrated for his name
by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end,
so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who,
through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises.

When God made the promise to Abraham,
since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
and said, I will indeed bless you and multiply you.
And so, after patient waiting, Abraham obtained the promise.
Now, men swear by someone greater than themselves;
for them an oath serves as a guarantee
and puts an end to all argument.
So when God wanted to give the heirs of his promise
an even clearer demonstration of the immutability of his purpose,
he intervened with an oath,
so that by two immutable things,
in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged
to hold fast to the hope that lies before us.
This we have as an anchor of the soul,
sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,
where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner,
becoming high priest foreveraccording to the order of Melchizedek.

~~~

I am continually blown away by the poignant relevance of the liturgical readings to current events. This one covers it all:

God is just
He does not overlook our efforts
He is the source of hope
We can't become sluggish
Faith and patience inherit His promises
Oaths are sacred
He is sure, firm...an anchor

There is more on which I could reflect, if I wasn't in the midst of packing to leave at 5am tomorrow for the March for Life! Please keep me in your prayers, and know I will do the same for you. When I return, I'm sure I'll have plenty to share!

The Gospel of Life

"The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as 'good news' to the people of every age and culture.

At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is proclaimed as joyful news: 'I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord' (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this 'great joy'" is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21)."

-Pope John Paul II
Evangelium Vitae

So Much for "Global Warming"...

Silent Night

I know that I've been quiet here since Christmas. Sometimes it seems that when the Lord is working most strongly in my soul, He moves me to silence. I've always been a naturally conversational person (I love words...particularly adjectives!), but in recent months He has been gently prompting me to value silence more. Words can be beautiful, but many of life's most beautiful moments occur in the quiet. So, too, does He choose to come to us most intimately in the quiet...in the tiny, whispering wind (1 Kings 19).

How often do we really notice the words we sing in that beloved carol Silent Night? That's right: the King of the Universe chose to arrive to the world in silence, in stillness. This thought was echoed in a poem I wrote several Christmases ago:

In a hushed and waiting world
Darkness reigns with night
Sin and blackness are unfurled
All wait for the Light

Souls are blinded, no one sees
All search for the One
When blackness splits…darkness flees…

Christ, our Light, has come!

I can honestly say that this Christmas season has been one of, if not the most beautiful I have ever known. Moments of adoration, of wonder, came at unexpected times, as the eternal mystery was continuously within my mind and heart. In the midst of action, hustle, and even talkative parties, I was often blessed to have an "interior gaze"...a warm ongoing exchange between the Christ Child and my heart, like a romance in which the lover and the beloved can be as though the only ones present. No matter what the outside clamor, their glances are full of meaning for them alone, and there is a secret joy.

The Christ Child is waiting to catch you in His gaze, also. Have you acknowledged His eyes of love today?

“We need to find God,
and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence.
See how nature — trees, flowers, grass —

grows in silence; see the stars,

the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...

We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

(Mother Teresa)

Let us allow Him to touch our souls...in the silence.

For Unto Us, a Child Is Born

A priest recently said to me: "Our Lord comes as a baby at Christmas so that we might find it easier to love him". One has but to watch the enchanting effect that a tiny baby has on everyone within reach to know how true this is. A few times recently when I've had the opportunity to hold a near-newborn while in a group of people, I've noticed anew how magnetic and powerful that tiny person is. Children approach and gaze wide-eyed, young girls and ladies caress and marvel, and even grown men step near to look and smile. A baby — in all his fragile, helpless beauty — has the power to reach even the most distant and hardened of hearts. Facades come down, and an indescribable tenderness overcomes us as we behold this tiny miracle of creation.

A Christmas message sent us from an area pregnancy care center held a quote (credited to this newsletter) which I found stirringly beautiful, summing wondrously this mysterious power of each new life...

"When God wants an important thing done in this world or a wrong righted, He goes about it in a very singular way. He doesn't release thunderbolts or stir up earthquakes. God simply has a tiny baby born, perhaps of a very humble home, perhaps of a very humble mother. And God puts the idea or purpose into the mother's heart. And she puts it in the baby's mind, and then...God waits.

The great events of this world are not battles and elections and earthquakes and thunderbolts. The great events are babies, for each child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged with humanity, but is still expecting goodwill to become incarnate in each human life."

Among the great events of babies, and the accompanying divine message of hope, the Birth which the whole world now celebrates shines as the greatest of all. In the supreme act of goodwill incarnated, the Father sends His own Son in the flesh: not as an imposing warrior in armor or a commanding king seated on a thone, but as a baby. As one of us. Regardless of the chaos, brokenness, or corruption that may be raging around the world, each Christmas reminds us that the Father is not finished with humanity. He reaches down, and places Eternal Light into a darkened world. Let heaven and nature sing!

"For unto us, a child is born;
unto us, a son is given.
And the government
shall be upon his shoulders,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

Just a Note...

Dear Kathryn, the new profile picture is for you! :)
Blessed Christmas, everyone!

Advent Day 14: Saint Lucy

Hear us, O God, our salvation, as we rejoice on the feast of Saint Lucy, Thy virgin and Martyr, and grant us to learn the spirit of pious devotion.

~from CatholicCulture.org

Fr. Kubicki on St. Lucy's memorial:

Swedish girls in a "St. Lucia" tradition...I'm not sure what the song is, but it's lovely!

Advent Day 13: Our Lady of Guadalupe

“Am I not here, I who am your Mother?

Are you not under my shadow and protection?

Am I not the source of your joy?

Are you not in the hollow of my mantle,

in the crossing of my arms?

Do you need anything more?
Let nothing else worry or disturb you.”

~Our Lady of Guadalupe

(celebrated today)

Our Lady of Guadalupe explained by Fr. James Kubicki, SJ

(National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer):

Advent Day 12

“The arrangement of the names of Christ, however, is manifold…
Sun, because He is the illuminator…
Vine, because we are redeemed by His blood…
Lion, because he is king…

Rock, because He is firm…
Prophet, because He has revealed what is to come.”

~Pope St. Damasus I (celebrated today)

Advent Day 11

“Peace begins with a smile.”

~Mother Teresa

We are in the Advent week of Peace...have you smiled today?

Advent Day 10: Memorial of Saint Juan Diego

"What was Juan Diego like? Why did God look upon him? The Book of Sirach, as we have heard, teaches us that God alone 'is mighty; he is glorified by the humble' (cf. Sir 3:20). Saint Paul's words, also proclaimed at this celebration, shed light on the divine way of bringing about salvation: 'God chose what is low and despised in the world ... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God' (1 Cor 1:28,29).

It is moving to read the accounts of Guadalupe, sensitively written and steeped in tenderness. In them the Virgin Mary, the handmaid 'who glorified the Lord' (Lk 1:46), reveals herself to Juan Diego as the Mother of the true God. As a sign, she gives him precious roses, and as he shows them to the Bishop, he discovers the blessed image of Our Lady imprinted on his tilma."

~Pope John Paul II at the Canonization of St. Juan Diego

Advent Day 9: The Immaculate Conception

“What a great gift to have Mary Immaculate as mother! A mother resplendent with beauty, the transparency of God's love. I am thinking of today's young people, who grow up in an environment saturated with messages that propose false models of happiness. These young men and women risk losing hope because they often seem orphans of true love, which fills life with true meaning and joy. This was a theme dear to my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, who so often proposed Mary to the youth of our time as the ‘Mother of Fair Love’… How sad it is when youth lose the wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful sentiments, the value of respect for the body, the manifestation of the person and his unfathomable mystery! Mary Immaculate, whom we contemplate in all her beauty and holiness, reminds us of all this.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus Address, December 8, 2007

Second Sunday of Advent

“A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!”

~from Today’s Gospel

Advent Day 7

God of joy and cheer,
we thank you for your servant,
the good bishop Nicholas.
In loving the poor,
he showed us your kindness;
in caring for your children,
he revealed your love.
Make us thoughtful
without need of reward
so that we, too, may be
good followers of Jesus.

Happy St. Nicholas Day! If you haven't been to StNicholasCenter.org yet, there's no better time! Both the beautiful picture and prayer are from there.

May the generous spirit of this saint inspire us today and the whole year through.

God bless!

Advent Day 6

Lord, we believe that You can make us see.

~See today’s gospel

Advent Day 5

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’

will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father...”

~Matthew 7 (today’s gospel)

Advent Day 4

"It is not the actual pysical exertion

that counts towards a man's progress,

nor the nature of the task,

but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken."

~St. Francis Xavier, celebrated today

Advent Day 3

(See today's first reading)

Advent Day 2

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

~Psalm 122 (Today's Responsorial Psalm)

First Sunday of Advent

“Advent is, par excellence, the season of hope.”

~Celebration of Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
St Peter's Basilica, 1st December 2007