Merry 4th Day of Christmas!



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O Divine Redeemer Jesus Christ, prostrate before Thy crib, I believe Thou art the God of infinite Majesty, even though I do see Thee here as a helpless babe. I humbly adore and thank Thee for having so humbled Thyself for my salvation as to will to be born in a stable. I thank Thee for all Thou didst wish to suffer for me in Bethlehem, for Thy poverty and humility, for Thy nakedness, tears, cold and sufferings.

Would that I could show Thee that tenderness which Thy Virgin Mother had toward Thee, and love Thee as she did. Would that I could praise Thee with the joy of the angels, that I could kneel before Thee with the faith of St. Joseph, the simplicity of the shepherds. Uniting myself with these first adorers at the crib, I offer Thee the homage of my heart, and I beg that Thou wouldst be born spiritually in my soul. Make me reflect in some degree the virtues of Thy admirable nativity. Fill me with that spirit of renunciation, of poverty, of humility, which prompted Thee to assume the weakness of our nature, and to be born amid destitution and suffering. Grant that from this day forward, I may in all things seek Thy greater glory, and may enjoy that peace promised to men of good will.

Amen.

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St. Francis of Assisi set up the first "Nativity scene." He brought in a donkey and an ox and placed them on either side of the altar, and he set up an empty manger in front of the altar.

Empty, because Jesus was already there! In the Eucharist! As our living food, born to save the world.

Why would He humble Himself so far?

Love.

Because He loved us and, I think, because He wanted to give us a tangible way to love Him.

Merry Christmas!

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Lord, in this holy season of prayer and song and laughter, we praise you for the great wonders you have sent us: for shining star and angel's song, for infant's cry in lowly manger. We praise you for the Word made flesh in a little Child. We behold his glory, and are bathed in its radiance. 

Be with us as we sing the ironies of Christmas, the incomprehensible comprehended, the poetry made hard fact, the helpless Babe who cracks the world asunder. We kneel before you shepherds, innkeepers, wisemen. Help us to rise bigger than we are. Amen.

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:)

More people that are not amused by my lack of blogging:



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I am a horrible slacker. This penguin is not amused:

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This quote hung on one of my teacher's doors in junior high:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. — Marianne Williamson

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Happy 3rd Sunday of Advent!

Today, the priest saying Mass at my home parish was talking about how the actual date we celebrate Christmas is inconsequential.

"He doesn't need to be born on the 25th of December. He needs to be born every day through how we act to one another."

May you help make Christ present to those around you, today and every day.

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:)

Doctor Who

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Sorrowful Mysteries: The Crowning with Thorns

I'm not exactly sure what to say about this mystery. I'm frankly a little confounded by it. At first glance, it seems fairly simple, albeit horrific. They shoved the thorns on his head. It was mocking, cruel, painful, but that's what happened.

And yet, the mystery seems to lie in how Christ is glorified through His own mockery. How He was truly crowned King of the universe through Roman guards mockingly placing thorns upon his head. They meant to humiliate Him by calling Him the "King of the Jews," by crowning Him with thorns. But He, who had humbled Himself so much, could not be humiliated. Since He was willing to be the least, they could not make Him so. Any attempts to do so only elevated Him. They were seeking to be sarcastic, ironic, but the resulting irony was not what they expected.

When they placed the thorns on His blessed head, they marked Him as our Savior, as our Lord. The symbol of mockery and pain became a symbol of our salvation, perhaps even saving some of those who helped to crown Him.

God takes our feeble human attempts at symbolism and turns them on their heads. We see a bleeding man, crowned with thorns, as weak and pitiful, devoid of any dignity. God seats Him on a throne and establishes His rule for all of eternity.

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Happy Feast of St. Lucy!

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So, Fr. Baker was telling the story today of Saint Philip Neri and the gossip whom he made pluck chicken feathers across town. The only thing I could think of, though, is the seal of the confessional.

I kind of doubt that the woman would be telling everybody about this humbling experience, and St. Philip Neri definitely wasn't, so who exactly started this story, and does it have any basis in reality?

Anyway, that's my random rambling for the night.

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Fr. Baker said:

"God sees perfection in you, because that's the way He made you. [You can be perfect.] Just look at Mary. He did it for her, so we know it's possible."

Also,

"Don't say you're 'just human.' She was just human, perfectly human."

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

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I'm praying for you!

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All the people I know who are named Peter are really friendly and love to give hugs, which kinda makes me think that St. Peter was less like this:

And more like this: 

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I'm praying for you!

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God does not get bored listening to you. He wants to hear about everything, how the spaghetti you ate for lunch tasted, what that squirrel looks like, what you don't understand about everything from shoelaces to the universe.

He didn't invent you in the hope that you would shut up. He didn't make you begrudgingly. God made you with this thought in His mind: This is the kind of person that I would enjoy spending all eternity with, talking and just being in each other's presence.

He made you to be with Him forever, and He loves you so much.

Song of Songs 4:7

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Unlike this elephant's mom, God always has time for you.

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Today, Fr. Baker gave a homily about Advent (obviously), and about how people think that their Christmas is awful if it's not filled with happiness every second.

But the first Christmas was a time of troubles and sorrow for the Holy Family. Mary was forced to travel to Bethlehem, where she had to give birth in a manger, with cows watching her. Then, she had to flee to Egypt.

And yet, that first Christmas was real, and it was joyful.

Because the darkness does not consume the light.

The reality that Christmas shows us is that the light of Christ shines in and through the darkness.

A Christmas with tribulations can be an amazing Christmas, because it shows us the reality of the first Christmas.

For with Him, there is joy even in pain, there is light even in the darkness.

I'm praying for you!

:)

I am a Catholic man and a priest; in that Faith I have lived, and in that Faith do I intend to die. If you esteem my Religion treason, then I am guilty.

– St. Edmund Campion

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:)