December 25, 1999 Christmas |
Readings for Sunday, December 26
The Sunday between Christmas and New Year's is traditionally entitled Holy Family Sunday. On this particular Sunday ... because of the Scriptures for this day, and because of the Christmas season, we reflect on the presence of Our Lord in the midst of the family. In these days, it is important to reflect on the importance of the family, and through our prayers and efforts, to seek to strengthen and reinforce family life in our country, which is threatened by many cultural forces. I would like to offer to you today some thoughts of Pope John Paul II on the family, from his Apostolic Exhortation entitled Familiaris Consortio:
By reason of their dignity and mission, Christian parents have the specific responsibility of educating their children in prayer, introducing them to gradual discovery of the mystery of God and to personal dialogue with him: It is particularly in the Christian family, enriched by the grace and the office of the sacrament of Matrimony, that from the earliest years children should be taught, according to the faith received in Baptism, to have a knowledge of God, to worship him and to love their neighbour.
The concrete example and living witness of parents is fundamental and irreplaceable in educating their children to pray. Only by praying together with their children can a father and mother ... exercising their royal priesthood ... penetrate the innermost depths of their children's hearts and leave an impression that the future events in their lives will not be able to efface. Let us again listen to the appeal made by Paul VI to parents: Mothers do you teach your children Christian prayers? Do you prepare them, in conjunction with the priests, for the sacraments that they receive when they are young: Confession, Communion and Confirmation? Do you encourage them when they are sick to think of Christ suffering, to invoke the aid of the Blessed Virgin and the saints? Do you say the family Rosary together? And you, fathers, do you pray with your children, with the whole domestic community, at least sometimes? Your example of honesty in thought and action, joined to some common prayer, is a lesson for life, an act of worship of singular value. In this way you bring peace to your homes: Pax huic domui. Remember, it is thus that you build up the Church.
As daylight grows shorter and darkness grows longer, lights begin to shine. A spirit of expectation begins to arise and accelerate. There are shopping trips, gift wrapping parties and a different kind of music is heard in the streets. It is obvious something wonderful is about to happen! In the midst of this excitement worshippers in churches are reminded to; be watchful, repent, and do penance. This gospel message is paralleled in a popular song heard at this time of year: You better watch out you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: __________ is coming to town! Purple inside of churches clash bright sparkling colors everywhere else. People everywhere prepare to celebrate Christmas by taking part in a variety of traditions, some of them only remotely associated with the preparation for the coming of the Lord. Yes, someone is coming to town. Prepare the way of the Lord!
The Feast of the Holy Family has been celebrated in the Universal Church only since 1920. It was originally celebrated on the third Sunday after Epiphany. Now it is observed on the Sunday between Christmas and January 1st. The theme of family is especially important today. The family faces so many challenges today. It is hard to uphold the value and importance of family in a society that has come to accept "anything goes" attitude. Even among Catholics society's values seem to overshadow the values upheld by the Church. All of our money declares "in God we trust." Do we? Pray for us to return to our moral center and "follow the way of the Lord."
My Dear Family in Christ:
In the first reading from the Second Book of Samuel, we hear the PROMISE made to the house of David: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2Sam 7.16). I should like to comment on this promise that was ultimately fulfilled in the receptivity of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
These last weeks, we hear more and more about the possibilities of failure surrounding Y2K. It is quite easy to get caught up in this. Some people are canceling trips, buying extra food, even water, and are imagining the worst possible scenario.
I would like to say, on the contrary, as we come to the end of this millennium, we have the cooperation of the Blessed Mother in realizing the promise. God not only came to us; in His Son we have been redeemed. In this final Sunday, we are proclaiming in this liturgy the marvels of the promise, as Mary is totally open and receptive to the invitation: "Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk 1:38).
Let us take comfort in her willingness to cooperate with the divine plan. She has shown us that the promise was not just made to the house of David but through 12/31/99. This promise is offered to us again today as we, too, open our minds and hearts to the Word made flesh. Let us, then, not be side tracked by the preoccupation of computer malfunctionings, but be waiting for the coming Savior who comes to bring us peace.
Father Ron
The Christmas tree as a widespread tradition is relatively recent. By the beginning of the 19th century it had become popular throughout Germany and from there it spread to Slavic nations and France. Only in the mid-1800s was the custom introduced into England. About the same time, it was popularized in the United States by German immigrants. On a limited basis, it had first been introduced in the American colonies by Hessian soldiers during the American Revolution, and even earlier by the German Moravian church.
At first, Christmas trees in this country were small table trees decorated with homemade ornaments from needlework, pastries, and ribbon. By the end of the last century, floor-to-ceiling trees were common, decorated with homemade and commercially manufactured decorations, and wrapped in tinsel garland. In the late 1930s the lightbulb-blowing process was adapted to Christmas tree balls.
Christmas trees appear in numerous forms today. For many people they are merely a holiday decoration. They preserve, however, rich Christian symbolism: the green of hope at a time of dying, the burning light of Christ at a time of spiritual darkness, and the fruits of paradise.
The gospel story of the Magi, so closely associated with Epiphany, is a reflection on an important aspect of the mystery of Incarnation: The Messiah has come to all people and not just to the Jews, a theme highlighted by Matthew's gospel. The word "magi" is Greek and refers to a learned caste in Babylonia, probably astrologers. It fits into the symbolism of supernatural circumstances that led representatives of the Gentile nations to the Messiah. References to prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures (for example, Isaiah 60:1-6) are used by the gospel author to emphasize the universal purpose of Jesus' birth. In Psalm 72:10ff, the King of Judah, one of the Messiah's titles, is promised gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the three gifts mentioned in the gospel, were traditional symbols of homage in the East. Traditionally they have come to symbolize the destiny of Jesus: gold for his royalty, frankincense for his divinity, myrrh for his suffering and death.
This gospel reflection on the birth of the Messiah was embellished by popular details as the centuries passed. The number of Magi was set at three by Origen (d.254) because of the three gifts mentioned. The Magi were turned into Kings in the 6th century because of Old Testament references (Psalm 72:10; Isaiah 60:3ff). The representation of the Magi as three kings along with their physical appearance comes from legends in the 9th century. They described the kings as representing the three major races and gave them names: Melchior, an old white man with a long white beard, bearing the gift of gold; Caspar, young and of darker hue, carrying incense; and Balthasar, a black man, offering myrrh.
Question: Why are pilgrimages significant during the Great Jubilee Holy Year 2000?
Answer: Pilgrimages have always been a significant part of the life of the faithful. (Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 (BIGJ) by John Paul II.) In particular, pilgrimages remind us that life is a journey. A pilgrimage evokes the believer's personal journey in the footsteps of the Redeemer: It is an exercise of practical asceticism, of repentance for human weaknesses, of constant vigilance over one's own frailty, of interior preparation for a change of heart. Through vigils, fasting, and prayer, the pilgrim progresses along the path of Christian perfection. (BIGJ by JP II.)
The roots of pilgrimages are in Sacred Scripture. The Israelites would make pilgrimages to the city where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The shrines of Bethel and Shiloh were also common pilgrimage sites. Jesus himself went with Mary and Joseph as a pilgrim to the Holy City of Jerusalem. (Lk 2:41) (BIGJ by John Paul II.)
We are all encouraged to make pilgrimages during the Holy Year 2000. Watch the bulletin for pilgrimages in our Archdiocese. Also consider visiting local shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Saints.
This Feast of the Holy Family has much to offer us as to who we are and our relationship to one another, whether in our nuclear family, our extended family and our Christian family, the Church. Our dealings with one another often have a ripple effect upon one next to us and beyond them. Words we say may affect some one in ways that their behavior may influence others, for good or bad, for a long time. But family is not just immediate blood relatives. It is all the children of God, all the people who have come to have a relationship with the divine.
In a broad sense our theology of the "communion of saints" is a theology of Christian family. Our teaching on the communion of saints proposes that all people who are "connected" to God are mystically connected to one another. Our prayers are not meant to persuade God to change His mind to do this or that. Our every prayer, our every action, thoughtfully and calmly done, causes a "ripple effect" in the delicate spiritual network of which all the children of God are a part. All our prayers and good actions change us, change the atmosphere around us, touch all who touch that atmosphere, even those who have died. Our prayers, meditations, charitable works, loving gestures set off chain reactions that go on into eternity.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, may our special family prayer be that given to us in the Book of Blessings:
We bless your name, O Lord
For sending your own incarnate Son,
To become part of a family,
So that as he lived its life,
He would experience its worries
And joys.We ask you, Lord,
To protect and watch over our family,
So that in the strength of your grace
Its members may enjoy prosperity,
Possess the priceless gift of your
Peace,And, as the Church alive in the home,
Bear witness in this world to your
Glory.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.Amen.
May the peace and joy of the Savior be yours in abundance.
The richness and splendor of this holy season gives us pause to give thanks for the wonders that God has shared with us in the gift of his Son. He came to be nurtured in a family. In the home provided for him, he learned the meaning of welcome, acceptance, faith and sharing. In every culture, the family is the foundation upon which a secure society is built.
In pondering the example of the Holy Family, we have these words from the Letter to the Colossians: "Because you are God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness and patience" (Col.3:12). What clearer message can be offered as the way to renew and strengthen the family in our day.
The family is the first school of a child's education. In our case, as believers, that formation means a solid basis in the faith and moral activity. We cannot leave to others this basic responsibility.
As we pause this Christmas season, let us recommit ourselves to the task of a positive Christian formation based on the person of Jesus Christ who grew in wisdom and knowledge in the home created by Mary and Joseph in Nazareth.
May the Spirit who guided them enlighten us all in living the gift of God's love, Jesus Christ.
Father Ron
I have always loved Christmas and I hope you do, too. After Mass on Christmas Eve, I go off by myself to pray and read Christmas stories and poems that keep the Christmas spirit alive in my heart. It is a treasured and a needed time for me if I am to speak to you about Him.
Let me share with you a few lines from a poem I read each year. It is entitled "The Art of Keeping Christmas" by Wilfred Peterson.
"How can we best keep Christmas?...By rediscovering the faith and simplicity of a little child, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. By being still and listening to the angels sing within our hearts. By quietly evaluating our lives according to the Master's standards as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount. By rededicating ourselves to the Master's ideas of peace, brotherhood and good will. By resolving to give ourselves away to others in love, joy and devotion."
Take some time this week to pull away and let Him speak to your inner Child. Merry Christmas.
Father Murphy
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! The Christmas message is profound. Yet, there is a tendency to focus our attention, almost exclusively, on the infancy story of Jesus. It is cute and easy to be responsive to a baby. Christmas is more than a birthday party. God becoming man testifies to a God that trusts His creation. It counter balances the stories of Genesis. The trust level is total, for the child is dependent upon the creation for survival. As adults, we know the whole story of Jesus. We don't know Him only as a baby. So Christmas has to move beyond the birthday party to a sense of this God trusting us once again with His creation. So, how do we care for this creation? Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst for holiness, the sorrowing, the lowly, those who show mercy, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. Do we see ourselves in this group? Will the Child find us among the blessed? The Child's very coming indicates how much trust God has in the compassion of His creatures. The season moves us to make time and take time for compassion. When we do this we feel good. Someone told me that a surge of warmth ran through her body when she saw a child wearing a gift that she had provided through a giving program. Last year's Confirmation children were amazed at how ordinary the people were who came to the soup kitchen during their community service project. One of the greatest smiles I experienced was a toothless man responding to a kindness. We capture some of this warmth as we watch the excitement of little children tear into their Christmas gifts. Christmas produces a sense of peace and warmth. The compassion of Christmas must somehow become a daily experience. Has the greeting Merry Christmas become simply a seasonal cliche? What makes Christmas merry? Compassion makes Christmas merry. Compassion also adds happiness to daily life. Try it you'll like it!
And, oh yes,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Father Michael Doyle, OSM
May the Christmas season
neither rush nor crush you.
May it snow
only when you want it to.
May Christ's peace
be the best gift
you receive this Christmas.
May your children be surprised
by at least one amazing Christmas gift,
but get what they need
and enjoy what they get.
And may the Lord Jesus
be born again under your tree,
in your heart, and in the lives
of all those you meet and greet
this Christmas. Amen
-Andrew Costello
Our Father
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Father, rich in mercy,
in the life, death and resurrection
of your Son, Jesus Christ,
you have reconciled us to yourself.
Send the Holy Spirit among us
that we may seek
the forgiveness of our sins, and,
united as your sons and daughters,
call you "Abba," Father. Amen
