Honor Christmas!

 I will honor Christmas in my heart, 

and try to keep it all the year! 

(Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol) 

Blessings at Christmas, 

from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 

Mill Valley... 

Holly at Christmas, and beyond...?

     Have you ever noticed what appears to be holly high up in one of the stained glass windows of Our Lady of Mount Carmel?  It's set in what might seem to be a curious space:  in the fourteenth of our Stations of the Cross, wherein Jesus is laid in the tomb.  But why would anyone put holly there?  It's hardly a Christmas scene, and holly is a Christmas symbol... or is it?

     Historians tell us that hanging boughs of holly during the Christmas season is a tradition borrowed from Celtic and Druidic tribes, for whom the evergreen's capacity to remain colorful even in the darkest months of winter was sacred.  In the Christian tradition, however, this symbolism was expanded to encompass not only the season of Christmas, but also the Passion of Christ.  The German word for holly is Christdorn, or Christ-thorn; the holly's pointed leaves represent the Crown of Thorns placed on Jesus' head, while the red berries of the holly plant recall the drops of his blood shed on the Cross.  It would thus make sense for us to find a crown of holly leaves fallen to the ground in the tomb of Jesus, a reminder of his suffering yet ever-green, such that hope remains, even in the tomb.

     There is even a Christmas carol reminding us of this conjunction of symbols:  The Holly and the Ivy, which you can listen to by clicking on the video below:

The holly and the ivy,

When they are both full grown,

Of all the trees that are in the wood,

The holly bears the crown... 

Image source:  Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley
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The History of Holly

What's Your Magnificat?

   

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has looked upon his lowly servant. 

From this day, all generations will call me blessed: 

the Almighty has done great things for me, 

and holy is his name.
(From the Visitation, Luke 1:46-49) 

In her Magnificat, Mary sings of the great things God has done for her. 

Today, ponder this:  What great things has God done for you today?

And whom might you tell about them? 

To hear David Haas' version of the Magnificat,

click on the video below:

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Christmas Gospel Reflection, December 25, 2016: I proclaim to you good news of great joy!

   Imagine, if you will, trying to attend all four Masses this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:  the Vigil, Mass during the Night, Mass at Dawn, and Mass during the Day.  What scriptural riches you might encounter!

   All of the first readings for these two days are taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, whose message is one of hope.  At the Vigil Mass, we hear of Jersualem’s vindication shining forth like the dawn, when God delights in his people as a man in his spouse.  Midnight Mass tells us that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, for a child is born to redeem us all.  At dawn, Isaiah proclaims that our savior comes, while the daytime Mass brings glad tidings to us because their God is our King!

   Not surprisingly, our psalms are all songs of praise:  Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord, Psalm 89 proclaims, while Psalm 96 calls upon us to exult before the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth.  Psalms 97 and 98 also exhort us to rejoice, for the Lord is king, and thus all the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

   The Gospel texts naturally walk us through the story of our Lord's birth, from Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus and Joseph’s dream, to Luke’s account of  Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem to register, where, of course, the child Jesus is born.  Shepherds visit the baby, while Mary keeps all of these things, reflecting on them in her heart.  And finally, John’s magnificent prologue, which reminds us that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, a testimony to Jesus as revelation of the Father to humankind.

   Lastly, our epistles remind us of all that we know of Jesus thanks to the Incarnation:  that he is the descendent of David, savior of the world (Acts), he in whom salvation is revealed (Titus 2), the love of God incarnate, come to save his people (Titus 3).  A final, powerful reading from Hebrews speaks of Jesus as the refulgence of God’s glory, whom we, like the angels are to worship!

   No one can attend every Mass, and perhaps no celebrant is crazy enough to tackle all of these readings with four different homilies.  But we would encourage you over the next few days to make a bit of time each day to read these beautiful readings in sets, first all of Isaiah, then all the psalms, then the Gospels, and finally the epistles, meditating on their meaning and reflecting on them in your heart.  What better way to prepare for the coming of Jesus than to enter more deeply into the stories that reveal his glory?

 You can find all the readings for this glorious weekend here:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122516.cfm

Image source:  Wordle

God travels in wonderful ways (D. Bonhoeffer)

   God travels in wonderful ways with human beings, but he does not comply with the views and opinions of people.  God does not go the way people prescribe for him… Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous.  And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly… God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings.  God marches right in.  He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them.  God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God is in the Manger

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Breath of Heaven (Amy Grant)

 I have traveled many moonless nights 
Cold and weary with a babe inside 

And I wonder what I’ve done 

Holy Father, you have come  

And chosen me now to carry your son 

I am waiting in a silent prayer 

I am frightened by the load I bear 

In a world as cold as stone 

Must I walk this path alone? 

Be with me now 

Be with me now 

Breath of heaven 

Hold me together 

Be forever near me 

Breath of heaven 

Breath of heaven 

Lighten my darkness 

Pour over me your holiness 

For you are holy 

Breath of heaven 

Do you wonder as you watch my face 

If a wiser one should have had my place 

But I offer all I am 

For the mercy of your plan 

Help me be strong 

Help me be 

(Refrain)

To hear this song performed by Amy Grant, click on the video below.

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