December 28, 2008
Merry Christmas! (still)
Thank You!
Thanks to all who made our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day a wonderful celebration. For weeks different groups of parishioners have been preparing for Christmas -- some by providing gifts for needy families, some by preparing music, some by decorating the church and grounds. It was so good to have the “whole family” gathered for the feast at all the different masses.
(When someone who doesn’t usually pray with us each week tells you that they had a great Christmas at St. Brigid’s, please invite them to come back with you in the weeks ahead.)
Thanks to all who have contributed in the Christmas Fund collection -- this is one of our biggest sources of income for the year and if you haven’t sent in your donation, please do so this week. I’m grateful to all who have been so generous, especially when facing these tough times.
Room at the Inn, I mean the Convent
You may have heard that
SCOFamily Services found
a larger facility for the school
for childrenwith
Aspergers’s Syndrome so
theywon’t be renting
our convent.
Please spread theword that
we’re looking for a suitable
tenant. Floor plans, photos,
and other info can be
found online here.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
December 21: Father Derlis
December 14: Name that Saint
December 7: Searching for a Tenant
November 30:Purple Alert!
November 23: No Turkey?
y?
November 16: Will this marriage
last?
November 9: Blood and Food
November 2: Did you Know?
October 26: Visiting the
Pope
October 19: Rome-ing Around
October: 12: Lost in Translation
October 5: Violence and Life
Sept 28: Flip Flopping
Sept 21: Congratulations
Socorro!
Sept 14: Lift High the Cross
Sept 7: Happy 90th Birthday
August 31: From "saint"
to "Satan"
August 24: So you're not
the Pope
August 17: When God says
"no"
August 10: The Tiny Whispering
Sound
August 3: A Proud and Tender
Moment
July 27: What
would you ask for?
July 20: Waiting
for the Wheat
July
13: What we Wear
uly
6: We Welcome Westbrook
June
29: Sommer in the Summer
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Columns from
2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
?No, I’m not getting into the “Happy Holidays” vs the “Merry Christmas” debate. I’m rather promoting what the church is celebrating -- Christmas is NOT OVER!! Sure, the 25th has come and gone but we only now begin to celebrate these great glorious days where we remember God’s gift to the world.
So while the store aisles are strewn with half-opened packages and stepped on merchandise (75% off!), while they’ve hardly waited to put out the Valentines Day merchandise, the church community continues to focus on what’s important: Jesus has come into the world and wants to reveal his light to our families and in fact to all people.
The next big feasts in the Christmas Season are today: The Feast of the Holy Family, The Feast of Mary, Mother of God on New Year’s Day , and next Sunday: The Feast of the Epiphany. These are not mere “remembrance” feasts in which we look back lovingly to 2000 years ago to celebrate what was. No, these are future-looking feasts in which we rejoice in what is to come.
We can take the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Family to examine our own families and ask, “What is God’s will for us? What needs to be healed in our family? Where does faith need to be strengthened? What are our next ‘best steps’ as a family in the New Year ahead?” The Feast of the Holy Family is not merely about a family that lived long ago, but it’s about your family here and now.
The Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, likewise is not just about an historical event that we look at with fondness. It’s about a woman who gives birth to her son in a most miserable place -- an animal stable. Yet, in the midst of this poverty, God comes! As we all face the consequences of the downturn in the economy, most of us won’t end up in a stable, but many will be faced with ongoing hardships. This feast reminds us that God still comes even in our poorest moments. Mary is given great dignity in being the Mother of God. We also share in that dignity.
And the Feast of the Epiphany -- more about that next week.
Merry Christmas!
