The Octave of Christmas is one of my favorite time of the year. It is the first eight days of the 12 days of Christmas with the final day of the Octave occurring on the first day of the New Year the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. Most of my life as a Catholic I had know idea there were the Holy Days that followed Christmas Day (there is also an Octave after Easter) and why these days pointed our Catholic Church to the Paschal Mystery of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is the reminder of how we are called to continue to celebrate for while from the outside the world moves forward to the calendar New Year and perhaps the Church may look quiet there is much going on because of the journey forward. I would like us to consider several spiritual fruits during these days.
Proclamation: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn 1:14) Sharing the Good News is the greatest gift we can give to family, friends and the world. The witness to our faith is done is joy with our eyes focused on our Lord in the manger. It is a chance to grow in our faith as we learn why we celebrate. One of the easiest ways is to simply greet people with a “Merry Christmas.”
Life: Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.” (Mt 2:17-18) One of the most tragic and savage passages in the Gospels is the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. A moment were greed, fear and hatred come to destroy the precious and innocent life of the children of Bethlehem. We can share the Gospel of life, the blessing of life from the moment of conception to natural death where as a Church we focus on encouraging life in abundance. Christmastime is the blessing new life and we proclaim life through prayer and actions asking for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society and an end to the destructive acts against life, abortion, euthanasia, war, the death penalty, protection of refugees that surround us in our world. Witnessing to life is witnessing to God’s love.
Family: “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.” (Sir 3:2) The Feast of the Holy Family shows the other side of life, where joined together the transmission of grace through life is found always in the joy of the Gospel. Taking time to pass on the traditions of faith and family support the greater good of each child and of society at large.
Of course, these are actions of love we should celebrate throughout the year, but the Octave of Christmas gives us this opportunity to take time and intentionally focus on the blessings given and shared in the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas,
Fr. Mark

Fire in the Earth

It is done.
Once again the Fire has penetrated the earth
Not with the sudden crash of a thunderbolt,
riving the mountain tops:
does the Master break down doors to enter his own home?
Without earthquake or thunderclap:
the flame has lit up the whole world from within.
All things individually and collectively
are penetrated and flooded by it,
from the inmost core of the tiniest atom
to the might sweep of the most universal laws of being:
so naturally has it flooded every element, every energy,
every connecting link in the unity of the cosmos,
the one might suppose the cosmos to have burst
spontaneously into flame.
(by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ)

After I discovered this short poem many years ago and since that time it has become a staple of my Advent preparation as I take time to pray with it and discover new depths in the mystery of the Incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a reminder to me, over and over again, of how the coming of the Son of God changes everything, not just the great and the grand, but the very tiniest and forgotten breaths we take each day.
The first three words of the poem are a beautiful summation of what is happening. It is the coronation of a moment that has no beginning or end, the Alpha and the Omega of salvation where we find God’s will forever and unending and yet coming to completion in this great act of love in the birth of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem. If we can stay with him and be with him and carry him with us in our lives, then it is done. I can often read the whole of the poem but those three small words stick in my mind in such a way that what occurs to “the inmost core of the tiniest atom” in the infusion of love within the soul of every person.

 

It is played out in the Gospels and the life of the Church from generation to generation as the spark of life, the child Jesus, is nurtured, formed and comes forth from the womb of our Blessed Mother. It is imagining how every fiber of Mary’s body was ignited with the presence of God and how infused with Love himself she carried forward the “full of Grace” the angel saw her to be. It is the reality of St. Joseph taking Mary and taking Love into his home and being transformed in the sacramental gift of life given by God and the caring and protecting as a man of justice held forth the chaste and holy love growing in the faith filled response to Grace in his presence.
I always have this image of the newly covered fields of snow that seem endless, perfect and seamless in their being. As a child looking out over these vistas, they drew me closer to the wonder of the eternity promised in our baptismal unity with God. Of course this wasn’t the thoughts that raced through my 10 year old brain at the time but the experience lived on into adulthood where it began to make sense and the metaphor could have the flesh of faith placed upon the bones.
Most of all “It is done” opens me to looking at how God call each of us into existence, as he called his Son to be formed in the womb of Mary. He sees each of us as his beloved children called to do his will and share in his blessings of goodness and love. It is those snow covered fields where we are covered perfectly and endlessly with God’s overwhelming gift of grace that slowly seeps deep within our hearts when we seek to be “done” by embracing true love in Jesus Christ.
Have a happy and holy Christmas.
God bless
Fr. Mark

This past week America Magazine published an article where they reported from a survey they had conducted a finding I did not find surprising at all. It stated priests feel overworked, isolated and lonely. The overworked is from the fewer number of priests and the reason they cited for the feeling of isolation is the continuing abuse crisis within our Church. It certainly wasn’t surprising because I too often feel many of these things in my own priesthood and when talking with my brother priests they also talk about many of these same symptoms…but there is also a response our faith in Jesus Christ asks us to embrace…it is the hope of life where we recognize how the relationship of love helps us live in a broken and suffering world.
It is the intimacy of love Jesus lives and invites us to live within which reminds us of how our feelings are fulfilled and we find peace in true relationship to an other. It is making an act of faith in another, God first and foremost, but also importantly those we know and love. It is the faith that God and others care enough about me as a person to listen, take time and share their hearts with us in an interchange of love and hope. It is the hope that I can be known better and deeper in the sharing of myself with God and enter into His Sacred Heart in the offering of my heart. This is the true intimacy of relationship and life.
Now, I know these are easy words to write but very difficult to live and do because to accomplish true intimacy is hard work and constant works of love. It was appropriate that a few days after this article was published that the morning Mass proclaimed this in the Gospel reading, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

And here is my commercial…one of the ways I discovered I could combat the feeling of overwork and isolation is my involvement in Worldwide Marriage Encounter. It is here that I can share my feelings with married couples and families who truly care for me and have those relationships where there can be the deeper and more profound intimacy of love which we all need to be truly satisfied. Is there “work” involved with Marriage Encounter…yes…but it is the work that gives purpose to all the other things that happen in life and in the caring for others. It is in the relationships we share as children of God where I grow in peace in the chaste celibate life God and his holy Church call me to live.
I am not a pollyanna but I do know and trust God gives us the gifts necessary to live happy and joyous lives even in the midst of the struggles and pains that surround us. I also know that loneliness, isolation and overwork is not only found in the priesthood and I would highly recommend a Marriage Encounter weekend to any husband and wife…even those who may have attended a weekend many years ago.
So, a few things you can do to help your priests: invite them for breakfast, coffee, lunch or dinner…they will often say “no, I am too busy” but be persistent. Before I went on my original Marriage Encounter weekend, I was asked over a dozen times. When they do say yes, don’t make it another Church meeting…just talk about normal things.
Second, volunteer at your parish. It is amazing how an active and alive parish feeds the souls of a parish priest to do more.
And…pray for your priests, pray with your priests and pray for grace filled priests.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

May your mysteries, O God,
kindle in us that fire of charity
with which St. Francis Xavier burned for the salvation of souls
so that, walking ever more worthily in our vocation,
we may obtain with him the reward you promise
to those who labor well in your harvest.
Through Christ our Lord.

How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas? It is an important question at this time because preparation is what the season of Advent is all about. So, how are we preparing? Earlier this week the Catholic Church celebrated the memorial of one of the great Jesuit missionaries, St. Francis Xavier and I would like to use the prayer the Church offers us at the end of the celebration of the Mass before dismissal as a template of how we can prepare for the birth of our Lord and Savior by following the example of Francis Xavier.
May your mysteries, O God, kindle in us that fire of charity…what better way to begin our journey of preparation than to peer into the mystery of the Incarnation and find in it the fire of charity. God sent his only Son into the world so we may be saved, so we may inherit eternal life…the great act of charity. It is an act of charity we are called to live, become and share with others. It is looking outward towards others and discovering how best we can share the blessings of God’s love in stewardship of the gifts we have received from our Heavenly Father.

A few days ago a friend was sharing how he was putting up some Christmas decorations around his yard. Unexpectedly, a father and his children came across the street and volunteered to help him. This small act of charity on the part of the family relieved my friend, who is getting up there in age, of a small burden and also gave him much joy as he watched the young children excitedly go about the work of stringing some lights and setting up the decorations…which then led to some hot chocolate and cookies and the growth of neighborly friendship.
Burned for the salvation of souls…as sons and daughters of the living God we desire all to know Jesus Christ and to live in the grace and blessing of God’s love. Sharing this love, sharing the good news, sharing a small act, like the one described above, opens the door to God’s saving grace. People may get tired of me saying this…but…our work is to invite others into the great mystery of God’s presence, to be a true bearer of God’s Word, in the example of our Blessed Mother Mary. This means we must have courage to share our story and invite others into the mystery of God.
Walking ever more worthily in our vocation…we are reminded that the universal call to holiness is a call to live fully our vocation, whether as married, single, priest or consecrated religious and (here is the commercial) Creating a Culture of Vocation within our family and community is vital for building God’s kingdom. Charity at the center of our lives flowers in joy and the gift of love when we accept fully the blessing of our call to serve and sacrifice in the love of brother and sister. How do we practice this during this time of Advent preparation? Choosing words and actions which build up the holiness within our family and community.
Finally, We may obtain with him the reward you promise to those who labor well in your harvest. We look forward to Christmas morning with so much anticipation as children. We are literally bursting with excitement and joy in so many ways…this should be the same attitude we have for heaven…eager anticipation and joyful hope of the dawn of eternal life. Choosing to live life within the great mystery of the Incarnation, serving in charity, inviting others into the same joy of sacrificial love and growing in our vocation of holiness is the preparation of Advent and also of a life pointed towards heaven. May St. Francis Xavier and all the holy men and women who have gone before us help us to live our lives in the peace and blessing of the coming birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Through Christ our Lord.
Fr. Mark