Christmas Peace and Joy

To each of you I extend heartfelt Christmas greetings and a promise to remember all of you again when I join Monsignor Duffy, concelebrating the morning Mass today.

Recently I have had several conversations with Rocco Palmo, the young adult Catholic who produces Whispers in the Loggia. Those conversations and emails have noted what a blessing this blog has been for me. Rocco is responsible. When I told him that I have always had a desire to write, he was direct: Go for it. Start your own blog.

These have been unique days for me and my siblings. On the 23rd our mother would have been 87. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, this is our first year without a parent. My sister, in her goodness, scheduled a Christmas party for us with many of our friends who knew our Mom as well as many of her children's college friends. Today another sibling, my brother Bill, is hosting all of us at his home for a Christmas dinner. The "gang" were the ones who took over the half of the first two pews in our west transept for the Children's Christmas liturgy yesterday evening.

Someone asked me about my family. This is the kind of day for sharing that information. We are six: five boys and one girl. Don't feel sorry for my sister: she can take on all of us at any one time. There are seventeen, yes, seventeen grandchildren if you consider it from Mom's Christmas gift list or seventeen nephews and nieces if you consider it from my perspective. They range in age from the mid-thirties to the youngest who is in the first grade. Between the six of us siblings there is 22 years!!! So, we will have a good time this afternoon: teasing one another, laughing, telling stories about Mom and Dad, sharing dreams and worries as well all are growing older (and hopefully wiser), and chowing down on the ham and turkey that brother Bill actually cooked himself "over the hot stove" for all of us.

To you and to you family I send my greetings for a wonderful Christmas holiday season. You are in my prayers. And, speaking of prayers, please pray for one of our parishioners, a collegiate. Home on a visit, he shared with me that he is discerning a religious vocation. Wonderful, wonderful. Please remember him in your prayers and especially when you hear one of the intentions for vocations. I know he would be most thankful to you for your concern.

Someone asked a brother priest: What did you ask Santa Claus for Christmas? Without any hesitation he replied: December 26th!!!!

May this Christmas be special for all of you.

Fr. Milt

Santa Picture!!!

Thank you to those who picked out the character that I picked out from a list of Santa pictures on Googles collection of Santa pictures. I did not recognize the individual. Surely he is not the image I wish to portray to anyone let alone our young people. However, thanks to the technology of the internet, a new and more traditional picture of the good old boy appears in the posting for the Children's homily posting.

PARISH OFFICE SCHEDULE

The offices of the parish will remain closed until January 2nd. There is a reason for this lengthy closing. Due to necessary work that had to be completed at a time when the staff and students would be out of the building, in consultation with the Principal and staff, the Christmas holidays seemed to be the best time for the repairs to be made.

A staff member will answer the main phone line voice mail several times a day. Please leave a voice mail informing the person answering the tape machine the staff member to whom you wish the message directed. To leave a message dial the parish number, 202-337-4835, and select extension 10, the parish secretary's phone. Leave you message there.

As always, if there is a genuine emergency, Dial 6, after you have dialed the parish number and to reach Msgr. Duffy, dial 23; to reach Fr. Jordan, Dial 72.
to reach Fr. Leo, dial 21.

Thank you for your patience during this necessary work and closure of the offices.

Again, we wish you a Merry Christmas and the Blessings of the Christ Child.

Fr. Jordan

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE

Sunday, December 24th

1. 8:00 AM Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Msgr. Duffy
2. 10:30 AM Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Fr. Jordan
3. Croatian Mass postponed until Midnight, Fr. Ivan/Fr. Damir
4. 4:30 PM Vigil of Christmas Mass for Children, Fr. Jordan

6:00 PM MASS WILL NOT BE CELEBRATED THIS EVENING

1. 8:30 PM Christmas Carols precedes the Mass
2. 9:00 PM "Midnight" Mass, Fr. Leo

Monday, December 25th

1. Midnight Croatian Christmas Carols followed by Mass in Croatian
2. 9:00 AM, Christmas Morning Mass, Msgr. Duffy

And to all a good night!

CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS VIGIL MASS

Christmas Vigil Mass
Mass for and with Children
Good afternoon. Again I say that I am delighted to see so many young people with us today ... and, of course, the parents who have brought them here to learn more about Jesus as we celebrate again his birthday.
On Christmas we are celebrating something that is so difficult to really understand. To understand what it means for God to become a human being is very difficult even for us adults.
You know how amazing and mysterious it is when a magician performs acts of magic. Have you ever seen a magician show you a hat that has nothing in it and then, after saying a few words, is able to pull a rabbit, a real, alive rabbit, out of the hat? You think you know how he did it? But are you really sure? If I invited a blind student to describe for us what an elephant is, could he do it? Yes and no. Yes, if he could touch it and feel it. No, if he had no way of feeling or touching it. You would have to describe the elephant for the student, wouldn’t you? You might say that an elephant is a large animal. The elephant has a trunk for a nose. But the blind person only knows the word "trunk" to mean a large suitcase. The blind student was give a small suitcase and told that a trunk is big suitcase. Or the blind person was told that a trunk is something that is a part of an automobile. The back area where people store things in their cars ... like trunks. See how difficult it really is to understand something which is so different especially if we have not seen it before.
That is what is happening to us today. We say that the birthday of the little baby we call Jesus is very special because this Jesus baby is not an ordinary baby. What is he? He is God. Then we ask ourselves what is this God? Do we really know? Some of us might say "Oh, yeah, God is Jesus." True. We know that Jesus was born just like you and me. Two arms, two legs, two eyes. He could speak. Eventually he could walk. But, but, but: don’t forget we said he was God who came to be a person.
As God, Jesus came to us but where from? Where was his home. Somewhere where none of us, even our parents, have never visited ... and we hope they don’t visit there too soon.
What I want you to know today is that it is impossible for us to really understand who and what God is with our human minds. The only way we have some idea about what our God is comes to us because we can learn something about Jesus.
This is why we have Christmas: to get an idea about what and who God is. At Christmas what is the main thing that all of us do? Well, when we are young, we get ready to receive gifts from Santa Claus and from our family and friends. As we grow older, Christmas becomes more about giving gifts than getting them.
What the birthday of Jesus is about is that God, the Father in heaven, is giving all of us a very special gift. What is that gift? It is the gift of his son, Jesus. God is giving us his son to help us.
God’s gift to us, the baby Jesus, was the very first time we had a Christmas. And that happened over 2000 years ago. Before that people did not have a time of the year when they celebrated the birthday of Jesus. So, with the birthday of Jesus, people came to know that this Jesus is a special gift to each of us from God our Father in heaven.
Because God was so good to us, Jesus, his son, acted like his Father. As he grew older and did his work — remember what he did? He was a teacher. For three years he walked around his neighborhood telling people about his Father and how good his Father is. What Jesus was telling them was how important it is to be like his Father. And what is that? At Christmas we are reminded of the answer: it is all about giving gifts. First of all giving something of ourselves: help other people when then need help; it means being good to other people. Jesus taught his students that they should be like the Father who gave them Jesus.
One thing we must remember: if Jesus had not been given to us as a special gift, would we have had anything like Santa Claus?
Santa Claus is someone who is like God: a special person who goes around the world bringing gifts to others who have been good. Santa Claus became for all of us a reminder that Christmas is really about what God wanted us to know: that Christmas is about Jesus being born, Jesus being God our Father’s very special gift to us.
Sometimes older kids will try telling you that Santa Claus isn’t real. Well, let me tell you this. As long as you give gifts to other people, as long as you are kind to people, you are doing what God did. He gave us Jesus, a very special gift. We cannot forget that. So, we have Santa Claus, especially at your age, to remind us that to be a good person, we have to be people who give to other people. We have to be unselfish. We have to love others. We have to be kind to others. So, don’t ever think Santa Claus isn’t real. Santa Claus teaches us what Jesus taught us: caring about other people is so very important. And we will always need Santa Claus for young people like you ... so that you can begin to get some idea of how good God is to us.

SUNDAY REFLECTION: December 24, 2006

Fourth Sunday of Advent – 2006
May the peace of the Christ Child be with you today!
Of significance in the reading from St. Paul and the gospel of St. Luke in today’s Eucharistic Liturgy is the emphasis on doing the will of God. Writing to the Hebrews, Paul presents words of Jesus, his response to the Father’s will: "Behold, I come to do your will, O God." Luke, through the dialog between Mary and Elizabeth, reminds us how the virgin girl believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
The will of God for me, for you, indeed for every person ever created by the all-good God is, I would suggest, almost as challenging for to us as it was to Mary and the man Jesus.
These days of Christmas do bring many to spending some time in prayer in a church or quiet space, especially those who have felt alienated from our Church. But for all of us it is a time when our hearts seem to be fertile ground for the Holy Spirit. It is my prayer today that my words might help you as well as myself in taking a look at God’s will in our lives.
You and I, we were in the mind of God forever. Then there was a time when, along with our parents, He created us. Forever in His mind there was also a purpose for us to live out in our lives. Think with me on this: we are infinite spiritual beings. We always were in God’s mind before our birth and will continue either with or separated from God forever after our deaths. Then we can easily say that we are here on this earth "disguised as a temporary human being" seeking to live out our purpose.
Our greatest joy comes when we are fulfilling that God-given purpose. In doing so we are so much in line with the will of God. Mindful of this consequence, that is trying to live out God’s will for us, I want to suggest one of several reasons why there is so much happiness and joy in our world at Christmas.
Imagine for just a moment that you were one part of the triune God. You would have known that the Father’s will would be for you to become a human being. It would be a decision not simply to become a human being for a short time but to accept all that would happen during those years. Fully accepting the will of the Father, your life would radiate joy and happiness because you would have the unique sense that you were doing exactly what God the Father willed for you. This is the reason for Christmas joy: we are touched by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took on the fulfillment of the Father’s will in his human life.
Now let’s go back to thinking about God’s will. This is what I know about myself: God’s will is not always easy to discern even in prayer and adoration. So often that difficulty can be traced to a blocking created by over-activism. If I do not find the time to separate myself from the duties and other day-to-day activities for some time with God, I will not be able to understand fully what it is that I am intended to be, to do.
Then, when we do find the time to listen to God, to give room in our hearts to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we will on occasion find ourselves face-to-face with God’s will that might not be exactly what our ego-driven needs appreciate or expect. At times we are called to genuine sacrifice either called to give up something or someone we believe we truly want or need. At other times we might be called to begin something that could be frightening, marked by questions, a la the experience of Mary. Nevertheless, we have the example of Jesus and Mary to help us fortify our response to God’s will for us.
So, I urge you to separate yourselves from the hubbub of these holidays ahead for a little time of reflection on God’s will for you especially as you begin thinking about those trappings that are part of the January first decorations: our new year’s resolutions. When was the last time you seriously asked yourself about your understanding of God’s will for you? Could you write without hesitation what God’s will is for you at this moment in your life? Few, I suspect, truly understand what God wants in their lives. Perhaps the frustration, the loneliness, the emptiness that haunts so many folks today can be related to individuals not simply failing to live out God’s purpose for themselves but because they do not even know what God’s will is for them.
To know God’s will anyone of us must visit that placeless place within our very being where we put ourselves in touch with the Creator God. There, usually in quiet, God will speak. God will make clear what His will is for you. Then you pray like you have never prayed before: "I come to do your will O God! Give me the strength I need to live out your will."
December 23, 2006

DAILY REFLECTION: Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Today's first Reading contains these words from Isaiah: "Therefore the Lord will give you this sign...." Isaiah wrote these words to give a sign to King Ahaz (a 7th century BC King). Now we, most familiar with New Testament ways of understanding, believe the words we meant to speak of Mary and Jesus.

Historically, these words a sign given to the king and his people as a guarantee for the continuation of King David's lineage. The words would be a reminder to the king and the people that Yahweh had not abandoned them during the war they were fighting.

Signs point to or indicate something other than themselves. Along our interstate highways we see signs that guide us to hotel accommodations, restaurants, gas stations, etc. However, signs of something else are not always as clear as highway signs. This is so true when we are confronting challenges that bring us beyond ourselves.

What are the signs for us, for example, when we are confronting crises in our personal lives, in our community life, or in our national history. If we look, we will find signs of God's presence, God's intention. If you recall all that happened on "9/11." Surely God was not present in the initiators of the disaster. He could not be in their evil deeds. He is all good.

Look, however, beyond the tragedy. Look at all the goodness that the evil prompted: the bravery of firefighters, police and transit officers, emergency personnel; the outpouring of millions of dollars from people who knew no one killed, injured or forced to suffer loss of loved ones or property; the care given families who lost a father, a mother, a son or daughter, or a sibling; the love in those who gave burial places for the dead; and the care of those who comforted those who were searching for victims.

In any crisis, any difficult moments of our lives, we must look, we have to discern the presence of God to find a meaning, to come upon a solution.

DAILY REFLECTION: Tuesday, December 19, 2006

As I have mentioned before, in reading through Dr. Wayne Dyer's Intention, I have found myself with a deeper understanding of the psalms that I read each morning in the Office of Readings from the Office of the Hours (the Breviary used by priests and others). If you look at today's responsorial psalm, Readings and click onto Readings, you may be able to see where my mind and heart are going.

In these few verses, albeit a description we feel is directed at a much earlier generation, we can find much that speaks to you and me today. I believe that the psalmist understood that God is the Source of all intention. He intended the stars to shine at night, the sun to offer warmth after the coolness of darkness and so on. To "rescue me from the hands of the enemy," I am sure, is understood to relate to the devil. Yet, think this way for a moment or two. What are the hands of the enemy? Consider this thought: the hands of the enemy are all those things or persons who distract me from the intention that God had for me. Those evil hands might well be those ego-driven actions that keep me from fulfilling the real purpose in my life. Furthermore, jumping from the psalm to our present world, might we not ask ourselves this question: is not the negativity we sense so often in society, in our offices, in our families nothing but a sign that alignment with God's intention in the purpose of our lives been lost or minimized?

DAILY REFLECTION: Monday, December 18, 2006

Sorry to be late. The first reading Jeremiah is speaking about a frequently used theme in Old Testament writings: the Exodus theme. He proclaims a new exodus. We have to see beyond the Old Testament story. Exodus occurs in our lives so many times, perhaps even in one day. In the gospel today, we read that Joseph is called a righteous man. Why? Because he was one who made an exodus from the law. Remember according to the Jewish law he was obligated to expose Mary. He was to make her pregnancy known and thereby subject her to stoning. There was another event, the very Advent event, that few think of as an exodus. Jesus, son of God, leaving his Father to come among us, to save us, to bring us back to his Father. Consider your life. Are there exodus themes? I am willing to say there most likely are. Did you ever change career? Did you experience a marriage that failed? Have you buried both your parents? How about those alienated Catholics I mentioned in Sunday's homily? Isn't their departure from the Church a kind of exodus? Are we going to bring them home? Just as Jesus came to bring us home to the Father? Play with the exodus theme. You will find it in many corners of your life.

I invite you to check out the story about a truly successful priest of God, the newly appointed Archbishop of Toronto in Canada. In a lengthy conversation with the editor of Whispers, I learned much about a member of the hierarchy that I would love to know. Click on to Whispers to read the story. An inspiring story for a Sunday afternoon or evening especially if you have lost interest in the local football team and their game in Tampa. Thanks to Rocco (Whispers) for sharing an uplifting story. Whispers