Happy Third Day of Christmas

               “Happy Third Day of Christmas” was the opening of the homily today at Holy Family Catholic Church in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  On this great solemnity for St. John, it does seem as if the entire world has forgotten that there are twelve days in Christmas. I made the mistake of not bringing any Christmas CD’s and cannot find any Christmas music, not even on Christian music stations.

                For most of Advent, I try not to listen to Christmas music.  Pandora’s Advent station becomes one of my most used sources for music during advent.  I’ve come to love the Advent songs.  There are thirteen verses to” O Come, O Come Emmanuel”.    “O Come Devine Messiah” and “Creator of the Stars at Night” are now in my Advent repertoire.  I have been singing the great Christmas carols to myself as I take the time to praise God for the gift of his only Son.

               The feasts that we, as Catholics celebrate this week are inspiring and beautiful.  Yesterday we remembered Stephen, the first Martyr.  I read an essay that reflected on the fact that Stephen and Paul are in heaven, ecstatic to be together, although Paul, then known as Saul watched Stephen be stoned to death.  The point was made that Stephen wanted everyone to know Jesus as he did and that Saul’s conversion would have filled Stephen with delight -a wonderful second day of Christmas.

Today, the Apostle John, the one to whom Jesus gave his mother and the one who first believed at the tomb, was the focus of the Eucharistic celebration.  Tomorrow it will be the feast of the Holy Innocents, the children whom Herrod had killed to eliminate the Messiah.   I would imagine that the children who were massacred in Connecticut will be prayed for during the prayers of the faithful at churches all around the country, and perhaps the world.  Saturday will be the feast of St. Thomas Beckett who was martyred in 1170 and then Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family.  And on it goes until January 6^th, which is Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas.

If you are not ready to join the after Christmas madness of shopping, and preparing for New Year’s Eve, stop by your local Catholic Church.  You will find a place that celebrates the birth of Christ until Epiphany.  Christ, as a tiny baby will be found in the Crèche.  As you breathe, you will inhale the pine scent of the trees and you eyes will be delighted will altars decorated with a plethora of poinsettias.

               Most importantly, you will find Christ in the tabernacle and a quiet place to pray and reflect.  Whether it is the third day of Christmas, or the 198 day of ordinary time, it is a day to thank God for his great gift.

When Tragedy Strikes

               On Monday evening, one of the women in my prayer group was in tears during petitions.  A friend of her 12 year old daughter’s had been taken from school in an ambulance with an unknown condition.  Speaking to her later, she said, “You say good-bye to your kids in the morning thinking that you’ll see them in the evening”.  Tears welled up in her eyes again as we silently pondered the weight of motherhood and the fragility of life. Trying not to sound flip, and in all earnestness I said, “That is why we have faith. We believe in life after death”.  Those words eerily came to mind yesterday as I saw the news about Sandy Hook Elementary School.   As a Mom and a daughter of God, I thought I would share how I am handling this senseless tragedy.

               As I was preparing to leave my office and pray the Rosary with friends at Noon, I saw that there was a school shooting at an elementary school and at the time the report was one was dead.  “So tragic,” was my thought.  I prayed the Rosary, on my knees, for the parents and family members of the victim, for the children and teachers who experienced such violence in their school and for the shooter and his family.  I petitioned Mary to cover the entire community with her mantel.  I begged for a multitude of angels to be sent to the area to protect it. I pleaded for the Lord to be merciful and save the soul of the deceased.  And I prayed for the safety of school children everywhere.

               Soon I learned that the tragedy was much larger than initially reported. How do I make sense of such a heartbreaking calamity?  Prayer is my first step.  I paused often yesterday to repeat the prayers made during the Rosary and added other prayers.  I prayed to the Lord, and petitioned for prayer from Mary, St. Rose of Lima, my parents (who were school teachers), and the litany of saints who have become my friends over the years.

              Eucharist and Adoration are other steps that can be taken in the wake of disaster.  Going to daily mass and offering up prayers in thanksgiving for the safety of loved ones as well as for the community of Newton, Connecticut can be comforting.  Time spend in front of the Eucharist at Adoration can do the same.  St. Rose of Lima Catholic church is across the street from the school.  It had a mass last night that had hundreds of people flowing out onto the parish grounds.  It was also open all night for prayer.

               This incident gave me the opportunity to stop and realize, once again, that this is not our home.  God created us to live with him in eternity once our life on this earth is over.  Perhaps when we are ensconced in one of the mansions referred to by Jesus in the Gospel of John, we will understand why senseless tragedy strikes.  This world is not heaven and there will be suffering.  Believing that God is in control and that he loves us more than we can imagine is a healing balm for me.

               Another form of healing balm can be spending quality time with my son. Last night I was getting ready to go to bed, my 15 year old asked if I wanted to play a game of Jeopardy on the I Pad.  “Of course” was my response, in spite of the fact that I was really tired.  With all of the events of the day, the opportunity to spend time with him was welcome.  We always learn something about each other when we play. Tonight under the category of “Foreign Phrases”, we were asked to identify the Latin name for the “Our Father”.  After answering it correctly, my son began singing the Our Father in Latin.  What a wonderful gift on a tragic day.  

Pour, Pour, Pour

               A few days ago, while running to retrieve a football I was repeating “pour, pour, pour” over and over.  I found myself on the football field with my 15 year-old son. He wanted to practice punting and kicking, in the hopes that he might replace the graduating kicker on his high school football team next fall.  My husband usually handles the sport practices, but he was under the weather with a terrible cold.

               Earlier that week, I had been using Jeff Cavin’s new Bible Study titled “Walking Toward Eternity”.  It uses Lectio Divina to study several different topics, including love.  The passage I was reading was 1 Corinthians 13.  I think of this chapter as the wedding passage.  Having been to countless weddings with the reading, “Love is patient, love is kind”, my husband and I chose not to use it when planning our wedding 19 years ago. 

               I read the passage out loud twice and then quietly prayed with it.  I envisioned a water fall, understanding that true love is like a waterfall that pours and pours and pours.  The question in the journal asked me to describe the passage and I wrote “unending pouring”. 

               If love truly “never ends” and is all of the things described in 1 Corinthians 13, then it is like a waterfall pouring over those who are loved.  That means that I am the "pourer" of love over those I love.  To be able to pour means emptying myself, even when it feels like I don’t have anything more to give (or  don’t want to give any more).

               Later that day, I found myself on the football field, chasing down balls that landed on a fabric covering.  Rightly, my son didn’t think it was a good idea for him to run on the fabric with cleats.  First he enthusiastically practiced 8 or 10 punts (being filmed by me), and then 8 or 10 extra points.  He analyzed each kick, looked at the video to determine his form and then kicked the ball again. The clock was ticking.  I watched my watch as the minutes flew by, knowing that I needed to get home, shower change and get to church to lector at the 5 pm mass.

               As I was chasing that ball, I wanted to shut the practice down and go home.  And then the words, “pour, pour, pour” came into my head.  I realized that being generous with my time was the way I was pouring out my love for him (and for Him) that afternoon.  We gathered the kicking paraphernalia and headed for home 50 minutes before mass.

               We arrived at church 12 minutes in advance of the beginning of mass.  That was late for me, but in plenty of time to gather a sense of calm and prepare for reading.  My hair was slightly damp and I the only makeup was mascara on my lashes.  I doubt that anyone noticed.  But my son knows that I was willing to help him in this new venture and the Lord knows that I did my best to “pour” my love out for him that afternoon.

"One step enough for me"

               It’s just weeks before Christmas, which means I am focused on end of the year fundraising for my clients as well as preparing for family Christmas activities, decorating and spending some time in prayer each day.  For me, the end of the year means planning for next year for my clients and business.  This year, I am finding myself quiet anxious about the coming year. 

               For many years, probably decades, I was anxious about the future.  Planning and re-planning and obsessing over the smallest details were a part of my everyday life.  Although I realized I was falling into a period of depression, I could not find a way to relieve the anxiety.

               Then in the summer of 2008, God swept me back to him and the anxiety left as I learned to depend on Him for the future.  But the last few weeks, the anxiety has returned, in spite of time in prayer and frequent confession.

               Last Wednesday night, my husband and I found ourselves in the unusual situation of having an evening to spend alone. Our son was at batting practice and Dave’s mom had retired early.  We sat in the family room while he read and I finished a project for one of my clients, occasionally conversing about Christmas plans, household details, school and Scouts.  As I finished work, I found myself tired, but didn’t want to go to bed, because it was so pleasant to spend time with my husband.  In fact I was so tired that I didn’t want to get up to get my book.

               Routing through my brief case, I found the September issue of Word Among Us that I had not read.  This particular issue was devoted to Blessed John Henry Newman, of whom I knew very little.  Several times, I had it in my hand to recycle, but decided to keep it to read later. I opened the cover and was interested to learn about his life and his struggles.

               The surprise for me came in the second article written by a Benedictine Abbot.  In the article, the author wrote about the unusual path traveled by Blessed Newman. It was a path that included misunderstanding, criticism, and loss of friends.  His hymn titled, “Lead, Kindly Light” and include the line, “I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me”.  I stopped, shook my head and reread the paragraph.

               This is the answer!  In the past few weeks, the anxiousness occurred because of my desire to know what 2013 would bring.  I want life to “get back to normal”, knowing that these is no such thing!  I paused to thank God for the quiet evening that allowed me to finally open this issue.  The Lord knows that much of the time I want to look far ahead of the next step.

               I have a new mantra for this season, “one step enough for me”.  Let me focus on this moment today and let the future arrive one step at a time.

Thoughts for the Celebration of Advent

The Religious Education Director at my parish asked me to speak to the parents are preparing for Advent.  I have given this talk in the past and went in search for some new material. In the context of the Year of Faith here are some of my thoughts about preparing for the coming of Jesus. 

In October 2011, our Holy Father released a letter that declared a year of faith beginning Oct 11, 2012 and ending on November 24, 2013.  The Year of Faith is also tied into the much promoted New Evangelization. Pope Benedict believes that the Holy Spirit is giving us the opportunity and grace to rediscover our faith in this Year of Faith.  And what better time for us to begin than in preparation of Christ’s birth?

Let’s review some thoughts of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict.  On Wednesday, during the general audience, our Holy Father spoke about the role of family in faith.  Speaking specifically about parents, he said: 

·        Sharing the faith with children and others should be done in a clear, joyful and simple manner.

·        The Second Vatican Council says that parents are the first messengers of God. 

·        They are called to rediscover their mission to open small minds to the love of God.

·        A fundamental role of parents is as the first catechists. 

·        Always be joyful. Help all members of the family understand that faith is not a burden, but a deep source of joy.

Do your children know who Jesus is and what it did? St. Bernard describes Jesus life as follows:  He lay in a manger and rested on a virgin’s breast, preached on a mountain, and spent the night in prayer. He hung on a cross, grew pale in death, and roamed free among the dead and ruled over those in hell.  He rose again on the third day, and showed the apostles the wounds of the nails, the signs of victory; and finally in their presence he ascended to the sanctuary of heaven. 

And He sent the Holy Spirit to remain with us until He comes again.  One activity that may help Jesus come alive in the hearts of your children is to use the internet to find the places where Jesus lived.  Explore them together.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ.  We can and should use this time to rebuild our own hearts.  I suggest a three-fold approach to rebuilding Advent hearts in your homes, adoration, Mary and Penance.

Adoration - I used to think that you had to be really holy to go to Adoration.  Now I believe that Adoration is for everyone, even the unbeliever.  During Adoration you may pray, think, read, and contemplate in the presence of Jesus. Plan to attend Adoration with your family during Advent. Come with your family and spend 15 or 20 minutes with Jesus.  Do this every month in 2013 and see what a difference it will make in your life and the life of your family.

Celebrate Mary – Because she said, " Yes", Jesus was born. Three great Marian feast days take place in the next month – Dec 8 –Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Dec 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe, Jan 1 –Mary, Mother of God.  Come as a family to mass all of these days.  (Two of them are Holy Days of Obligation.)  Pray a decade of the Rosary each evening with your family.  You’ll be through all four of the mysteries before Christmas comes!

Penance - It is the most misunderstood sacrament of the Church.  I recently heard a priest say that the best reason to come to confession is because Jesus should have the opportunity to say, “I forgive you” and that is what he does thought our Priests.  In Psalm David writes, “Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord”.  Have all of your family members receive a clean heart during Advent.

Today, after you pick up your children, sit down and talk about Advent.  Ask them how your family should prepare for Jesus’ arrival on earth.  You might be surprised with their response.  However you celebrate Advent, remember the Holy Father’s comments: clear, joyful and simple manner, open small minds to God, faith is not a burden, but a deep source of joy.

Mary, Mother of God and my Mother

Four and a half years ago, as God was in the process of reclaiming me, I realized that I needed to understand more about Mary, the Mother of God.  I had been Catholic for more than two decades, but she played a minuet role in my faith life.  I had just finished praying the rosary, a new practice for me, and I felt urged to have both a closer relationship with her and to understand Marian theology.  I immediately walked the four blocks to The Catholic Information Center in DC.

The selection of books was overwhelming.  While I didn’t consciously say a prayer to make a good choice, I do believe the Holy Spirit guided my selection.  I decided to purchase True Devotion to Mary.  I had no idea that it was a Catholic classic, or that it was written in the early eighteenth century and not published until 1842.   Of all of the books available about Mary, I selected the one written by St. Louis de Monfort, a Dominican priest.   

   I curled up with the book at home in the evenings and learned that Mary is the ultimate role model for Christians.  She said “Fiat” (or yes) to God’s messenger when asked to become the Mother of Jesus.      De Montfort’s writings, nearly 300 years old, helped me to understand the theology of Mary.  In the book he promoted a consecration to Mary, something that intrigued me but I was not even close to being ready for it.

Over the past year or so, I have thought of revisiting the book to determine whether I was ready to try the consecration.  It is de Montfort’s belief that the fastest and truest way to Jesus is through Mary, his mother.  My relationship with Mary has grown dramatically in the past few years.  Of all of her names, Mary, Mother of God is my favorite.

In August, at the Catholic Writers Conference, I heard Fr. Michael Gaitley speak about his book, “33 Days to Morning Glory”.  It is a do it yourself retreat in preparation for Marian Consecration. It focuses on how the life of de Montfort as well at Blessed John Paul II, St. Maximilian Kolbe and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta were influenced by an intense devotion to Mary.

It was de Montfort’s plan that the preparation begins so that it ends on a Marian Feast Day.  I pulled the book from the shelf and thought about doing the retreat as a part of my Lenten practice this year.  Over a two week period, I found myself reading the introduction and last week looked to see when I would begin to end on the next Marian feast day. I began this retreat on November 29^th and, God willing, will complete the process on January 1^st, the feast of Mary, Mother of God.

Coincidence?  I think not.  With three days under my belt, I find prayer more focused.  Father Michael uses a conversational writing style, which I didn’t think I would like for such an important topic.  I have actually found the content something that I am reading a couple of times each day.  Thank you, Father Michael, for this book.  I am looking forward to making it to Morning Glory.