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Showing posts from December, 2019
The Christmas Crèche       “The enchanting image of the Christmas crèche, so dear to the Christian people, never ceases to arouse amazement and wonder. The depiction of Jesus’ birth is itself a simple and joyful proclamation of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The nativity scene is like a living Gospel rising up from the pages of sacred Scripture. As we contemplate the Christmas story, we are invited to set out on a spiritual journey, drawn by the humility of the God who became man in order to encounter every man and woman. We come to realize that so great is his love for us that he became one of us, so that we in turn might become one with him.”       So begins Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter dated Dec. 1, 2019, Admirabile Signum , or “The Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene.” In the letter he encourages not only families to set up the nativity scenes, but also to have them set up “in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares.”     
The Two Waits of Advent        Advent is a time of waiting. While we wait for the coming of Christ, the Church reads from the prophet Isaiah during Advent as the clearest prophetic expression of Christ. Isaiah 30:18 has an interesting take on this waiting. It says: “Blessed are all those who wait for” the Lord, which we hear often from many passages in Scripture. But this verse actually begins by saying an astonishing thing: “The Lord waits to be gracious to you.” We wait for the Lord; but first the Lord is waiting for us so that He might shower us with grace. Part of our Advent reflection, then, is: how open, receptive, and available are we to this God of grace who is waiting for us?       The Christmas and New Year’s schedule for Our Lady of Lourdes Church is as follows:       This Saturday, Dec. 21, our Pastor, as Vicar of the High Desert Region, must be in Fresno for a priestly ordination, and therefore there will be no confessions on Saturday, December 21st. Hopefully everyo
Meditative Prayer        Continuing our series on prayer, we have looked at the expression of prayer that is vocal, and now we look at the expression of prayer that is meditative, sometimes called mental prayer or just meditation. Christian meditation is always in the context of Christian faith (doctrine) and prayer by which we seek communion with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit, one God. We surrender ourselves to the “You” of God. It is interpersonal. It is opening of our hearts to receive the love of God always present, and then to return love to Him.       In ordinary friendship we get to know one another by talking and gradual self-disclosure. When people fall in love, even more they want to know everything about the other. Or say you’re playing the lead role in a play. Don’t you want to learn everything you can about the character you are playing so you can imitate him perfectly?       Well it is no different for a Christian. We are disciples of Jesus. We try t
Something More        “Prayer is something more than an exterior act performed out of a sense of duty, an act in which we tell God various things he already knows, a kind of daily attendance in the presence of the Sovereign who awaits, morning and evening, the submission of his subjects. Even though Christians find, to their pain and sorrow, that their prayer never rises above this level, they know well enough that it should be something more.” So begins the book, Prayer , by Fr. Hans Urs Von Balthasar.       This “something more” is today’s topic in our series on prayer. And this “something more” is simply communion with God, friendship with Him, Person to person. God actually desires every person, without exception, to have a personal relationship with Him and in His Body, the Church. Every person is called to be saved from sin for this communion, this friendship with God. Our Lord Jesus many times calls us to “abide” in Him (Jn 15:4-10, cf. Jn 6:56) and even prays that the com