Last Things

Today's first reading starts on a rather ominous note: "It is the last hour." (And that gets repeated a sentence later!) Usually we connect "last" with the "end" of something. "Last" has a tone of finality to it, appropriately enough for New Year's Eve, the "last" day of the calendar year. But "last" can also have a ring of appreciation to it: "At last!" "Last" can signify completeness: "The last of the shipment arrived today." "Last but not least," the word can also mean "newest" or "most recent." So it's not all doom and gloom.

This "last" day of the year is also a kind of preview of the end of time, the Parousia on the Last Day. New Year's Eve as the "last" day shares a few things in common with that ultimate Last Day: there is a hint of judgment, as we draw up a kind of balance sheet on our personal life (we may even pronounce a judgement on the year). There is a hint of hope and expectation, like our expectation of the coming of Christ on the Last Day. We solemnize this last day, gathering with others to "await the joyful hope and coming" of the new year, and we greet its arrival "with shouts of acclamation" (along with fireworks and maybe some Champagne).

There's a tradition in many churches of keeping a prayerful vigil as the clock strikes midnight, so that the New Year opens in prayer. But whether you welcome 2009 in vigil or at a party...

Happy New Year!

Living in Advent

I know, I know: it's the Christmas Octave, what am I talking about Advent for? I can't help it: it's in today's readings!
We have the venerable Anna, at 84, an institution in the Temple (funny how she is hardly ever depicted in paintings or windows of the Presentation). She sees the child Jesus and from then on "spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem." And that "waiting" isn't over, really, because the first reading (from 1 John) gives us what seems to have been a stock phrase of apostolic preaching: that the world as we know it is passing away (1 Cor). Paul was telling us to "use the things of this world as though not using them" because they are passing away; John says "do not love the things of the world" because they are passing away. St. Peter (2 Pet) tells us what we are still in "Advent" for: "what we await are a new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns." The letter to the Hebrews speaks of all this in terms of the Lord "shaking the heavens and earth" until we inherit an "unshakable" kingdom.
So we, too, are awaiting the fullness of redemption, and we, too, must listen to the prophetess Anna as she tells us about this child.

St. Paul on the Move Again

As if he didn't move around enough during his ministry days, Paul is on the move again--granted that this time, it is only his statue that is being relocated! The mammoth statue (14 feet high!) was there to greet us at our Staten Island convent as we returned from each day's endeavors, and now it has been transported to our brothers's location on the same Island. (We moved from our longtime Fort Place address about a year ago; it has taken that long to arrange the move!) Read all about it!

In the Temple

When you hear the same (long) Gospel two days in a row, you start to pay extra attention. Yesterday for the feast of the Holy Family, there were two choices for Gospel readings; we heard the story of the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple. And today, that's the Christmas season Gospel of the day. So I'm noticing Simeon and Anna a bit more.
Since this is the scene of the fourth joyful mystery of the Rosary, the Presentation is one of the Gospel stories that has been depicted in a lot of art. The artwork tends to depict Simeon as a priest of the Jewish Temple, wearing a mitre and very formal attire. But Luke's story doesn't say that Simeon was "in" the Temple (at work, as it were), or even near the Temple. (It was Anna who basically lived in the Temple precincts.) Simeon, instead, came to the Temple that day on purpose, "inspired by the Spirit."
Depicting Simeon as a priest does us a disservice by "restricting" (at least in our imagination) the "encounter" with the Lord (which is what the Presentation is called in the Eastern churches) to formal roles and occasions. Instead, Luke is telling us that Simeon lived in communion with God as he went about his daily work, and it was that ongoing communion that sensitized him to the subtle hints from the Holy Spirit that the prophecies were being fulfilled that very day.
Why did not all the people of Jerusalem perk up at that movement of the Spirit? It's not likely that the call came to Simeon and Anna alone, but from Luke's story, it seems that these two elderly people (perhaps hard of hearing) were the only ones who heard the Spirit's voice that day.

Feast of the Holy Family

Happy Feast Day:

• all members of families
• the members of the Holy Family Institute
• all religious congregations under the patronage of the Holy Family

and

• to all my family, too!

The stained glass window is from St. Joseph's Church, Chicago, where we went to Mass on Christmas Day (and where I was immediately conscripted as lector!). (After Mass, while the sisters greeted the priests and people, I went around with a camera...)
The Church, originally established by German Benedictines, has just been restored to pristine "Arts and Crafts" era beauty, and it is just splendid. Unfortunately for the parish, at least for now, the majority of parishioners leave the city for Christmas, so there was a very sparse congregation. But the area is on an upswing, and more families will hopefully be moving in to fill the pews.

Upcoming talks

Are you going to be in any of these areas when I am talking about St. Paul? Here's a whole list of my scheduled talks to date (just missing the New Ulm DRE presentation, tentatively booked for March 8).

Get a Life

Today is the feast of St. John the Evangelist, and the Christmas season liturgy uses the occasion to introduce a whole series of readings from the letters of John. Today's is probably the most profoundly fabulous. It's the secret of life--only "life" is not what we assume it is. This reading sent me back to Paul's equally fabulous passage from Philippians about the self-emptying of Christ, who then received everything back (and more) in being given the name and glory of God the Father.
Turns out, life isn't something you can "get" or grasp or claim or even define for yourself. Life is what God is and how God is: self-gift to the point of emptiness, and a receptivity that awaits everything from the other. That is Trinitarian life, and if we are "in Christ" (Paul loved to say that), then we participate in this life. We, for whose sake the Second Person of the Trinity "emptied himself and took the form of a slave," participate with him in giving "glory to God the Father," glory the Father poured completely and self-emptyingly into the Son. And our life in time, here and now, is meant to mirror this Trinitarian life, because even now we are the image of God.

Still watching Stephen

At Mass, I was struck by the vivid red of the priest's vestments: the same deep red as the poinsettias. And Saul's presence at Stephen's martyrdom, too. In fact, as I walked to St. Peter's, I was remembering a phrase from the 2nd or 3rd retelling of St. Paul's conversion story (it is told 3 times in the book of Acts). As Paul is telling the story, the Lord didn't just appear to him on the road to Damascus and say, "Why are you persecuting me?" He also commented, "It is hard for you to kick against the goad."
What goad?
Could it be that one of the "goads" the Lord had sent to lead Saul into the Christian community had been precisely the "wisdom and spirit with which he [Stephen] spoke"? Was Saul resisting the faith that comes from hearing? He may have been glad to be rid of the preacher Stephen (little suspecting what else the Lord had up his sleeve).
I want to keep reflecting on this; that the Lord took his time with Saul, worked on his case, gave him several chances to respond to grace... It didn't all happen on the road to Damascus.

St. Stephen's Day

It's odd enough having the feast of a saint during the Christmas Octave (you can tell that the Christmas Octave isn't quite at the level of the Easter Octave when every last feast day, even if a solemnity, gives way to Easter); today is a martyr's feast. So right after the stars and angels of a birth, we have the bruised and bloodied death of a witness to the Resurrection. Is it another hint of the "sign of contradiction" that Christ will always be?
In this year of St. Paul, the feast of St. Stephen also draws our attention to the mystery of God's "permissive" will. There is a hint in the Acts of the Apostles that Stephen debated with the ardent Pharisee Saul, who was from the Roman province of "Syria and Cilicia" (and Stephen bested the members of a Cilician synagogue in a discussion about the Messiah and the Law). As Stephen was stoned (for blasphemy) by a lynch mob (is it a "lynch" mob if you are stoned?), Saul watched over the possessions of the murderers. (Odd that he didn't "cast a stone": was he too young to participate in the ritual punishment?) Who would have guessed that the same "Son of Man" appearing to Stephen through the open Heavens would soon enough appear to Saul, who would then more than take Stephen's place as an evangelizer?
Nothing is beyond the reach of grace!

Merry Christmas

Why Midnight Mass?

It's the only midnight Mass in the Roman Missal, and it's tonight. Some people would never miss Christmas Midnight Mass, even though it's (cough, cough) the only Mass they attend all year. But why is it precisely "midnight" Mass? (It's still the "midnight" Mass readings and prayers even if the Mass is anticipated, as ours will be tonight at Mount Carmel.) Is there something about midnight and Christmas, or is midnight just a particularly romantic hour for a religious observance?
We know about the "night" part of Christmas. Luke makes it pretty clear that Jesus was born at night: there were, after all, shepherds "abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night."
But that's not all.
The book of Wisdom, in a poetic meditation on the Exodus, proclaimed, "For when peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful word from heaven's royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land...' (Wis. 18: 14-15). So a dramatic, saving intervention of God took place when night was "half-spent" (ergo, midnight) and God's "all-powerful word" (the Word Incarnate!) descended from the royal throne.
Midnight Mass is the Church's way of saying that this passage was more than a meditation on God's action in the past history of Israel: it was a prophecy of an even more dramatic saving intervention by God through his Word.
So, whatever time your Midnight Mass is, may it be the opening of a Christmas full of Jesus!

The Song of the Angels

I was noticing how many Christmas carols and hymns assume that "heavenly hosts sing Alleluia" on Christmas.
Truth to tell, "Alleluia" is not the angelic Christmas song. According to the Gospel of Luke, the "heavenly host" was singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace." It's just that "alleluia" fits into a melodic line a bit more easily than such a long and complete message. (Our Founder latched onto the Christmas message and made it the whole focus of our mission, saying that the angels' song was really about what Jesus came to do, and so we are to continue the selfsame mission.)
Does that mean that "Alleluia" should be banned from Christmas? Not so! Alleluia is the Church's Easter song: when we sing it at Christmas, we are implicitly invoking the child's future resurrection from the dead. When we put it in the mouths of the heavenly hosts at Christmas, it is a kind of angelic prophecy of how the infant will bring about "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth." It is anticipated praise, so to speak.

Now, as for singing... My favorite Christmas carol is "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (interestingly, one of the few songs that puts the right Christmas words in the angels' mouths). What is your not-to-be-missed absolutely favorite carol?

Christmas Novena: Christmas Eve

It's Day 9 of the Novena, and the O antiphons have spelled out for us what it means: "Tomorrow I shall be."

" 'The harvest is abundant' (Mt 9:37), the divine Teacher repeats even today: Many have not met him yet and are waiting for the first proclamation of his Gospel: the enthusiasm of others, despite having received Christian formation, has waned, and they maintain only a superficial contact with the word of God; still others have fallen away from the practice of their faith and are in need of a new evangelization. Nor is there a lack of righteous persons asking essential questions on the meaning of life and death, questions to which only Christ can supply a fulfilling response. It becomes therefore indispensable for Christians on every continent to be ready to respond to whomever asks the reason for the hope that is within them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), announcing the Word of God with joy and living the Gospel without compromise."
Pope Benedict XVI

Christmas Novena, Day 8

The Founder "guided our meditation. He spoke to us with such power that it seemed to have imprinted itself on my very soul: 'Jesus Christ is the universal King; his salvation is for all peoples. He is the Teacher and Savior of all humanity. The work of the good press [as we called it then] must aim to make the Word of God reach many people, even those who do not go to Church. We are working so that the Reign of God will be spread throughout the world.' Some time later, while we were preparing the leaflet [missalettes], he passed by and asked: 'What are you working on?' We answered, 'We are preparing the packages of "La Domenica",' And he said, 'No, you are not just making packages: you are preaching to many people'."
Sr. Assunta Bassi, fsp (one of the first FSPs; she was about 14 at the time this episode took place)

In today's liturgy, the first reading (the story of Hannah dedicating her toddler son Samuel to the Lord's service) is just a preparation for the Responsorial Psalm. In a way, it is the Responsorial which is the real first reading, deliberately mirroring the Gospel (Mary's Magnificat). And both the Response and the Gospel today are the triumphant songs of women praising God for turning the world's usual order upside down and making impossible things come about.
It's a theme that will be dear to St. Paul ("God has turned the wisdom of this world into folly"; "God chose the things that are not to confound the things that are, so that no human being might boast before God").
I have to admit that I don't usually think in those terms, or in line with this rather significant biblical message. These last days of Advent offer yet another opportunity for me to "be transformed by the renewal of my mind," so that I will "have the mind of Christ."
(Doesn't St. Paul say it so well?)

Christmas Novena, Day 7

"The current global financial crisis illustrates why it is a mistake to build a life on passing realities like money and success. We see this today in the collapse of the great banks: this money disappears; it's nothing. And so all these things we thought were real and were counting on are in fact realities of a second order. We need to change our idea of realism. The realist is someone who recognizes in the Word of God, in this reality that appears so weak, the foundation of all things."
Pope Benedict XVI

Christmas Novena, Day 6

"Let us receive Jesus well! He comes in our midst. Let us prepare well our heart, our soul, our house, our community, to receive Jesus. Let us tell him in these days: 'Come into our midst. Come. We thank you for coming from heaven to save us. Come. We want you to be happy among us."
Ven. Thecla Merlo (Co-foundress, Daughters of St. Paul)

Christmas Novena, Day 5

"The liberation of the victims of oppression and injustice must include liberation also from the subtle manipulations [by which] media are used to exert upon the very hearts and minds of people. The distortions of truth, the creation of false needs, the deceptive lure of materialistic goals as the ultimate meaning of life and human fulfillment can be fertile ground for oppression and enslavement as much as the more obvious forms of injustice. Paulines are committed to address this issue by raising the consciousness of people to the need for a critical stance against the camouflaged attacks upon their human integrity waged through the media."
Sr. Veritas Grau, fsp

Parallel lives

While not entirely parallel in their lives, Samson and John the Baptist are presented in parallel manner in their births, which we hear about in today's liturgy.
They share certain exterior characteristics: both are the subject of angelic annunciations; both are conceived by previously barren women; both are consecrated to God under the "nazirite" vow (no liquor; no haircuts).
Interiorly, too, they have a certain similarity: both experience the presence of the Spirit of God early on (John "even from his mother's womb").
And both have a similar mission: not to carry out great accomplishments for the Lord, but to "begin" something. Samson was to "begin" the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines, not bring it about. John was to "prepare" the people for the Lord's coming.

Icons of St. John the Baptist can be pretty interesting all by themselves. In classic western art, John resembles his cousin Jesus so much that the only way you can tell them apart is John's Tarzan-like attire, or the action in the painting. In Eastern icons, John looks like a hairy (and very skinny, at least generally--see the ribs?) wild man--even in Heaven!

Christmas Novena, Day 4

"What is needed it the type of witnessing that supports the message with the example of one's own dedication to an alternative, other-centered power. The more radical and counter-cultural the witnessing, the more effective it becomes. Apostles of communication do have to inculturate themselves in media culture, but paradoxically, they are also to challenge with their very lives whatever in that culture is opposed to the Gospel that they proclaim."
Fr. Silvio Sassi, SSP

Advent Wreath Service, Week 4

Here is a flyer with a little program for the fourth Sunday of Advent (although I suspect that for most of us, my community included, by the 4th week of Advent the candle service tends to the perfunctory...). (Is that the case with you?)

Christmas Novena, Day 3

"How many times do you ask yourself the great question: where is humanity heading; how is it moving; toward what goal is it aiming as it continually renews itself on the face of the earth? Humanity is like a gret river flowing into eternity. Will it be saved?"
Bl. James Alberione
"The specific identiy and therefore the mission of the Daughters of St. Paul is precisely to insert themselves within the technological world of communication and probe its conscience with Christ's own questions regarding the ultimate meaning and values of life."
Fr. Silvio Sassi. SSP (Superior General of the Society of St. Paul and successor of Bl. Alberione)

A Question of Interpretation

The absolutely biggest question facing us when we take a Bible in our hands is the question of interpretation. But it's also the biggest question facing us in life! How do we make sense of the things that happen to us and to others throughout life? An interesting tidbit I found (in an article from Biblical Archaeology Review) demonstrated that our ancestors in faith expected the Bible to help them interpret life. One Jewish approach to Scripture was to bring life to the Bible, matching a text to the current situation, and letting the text in its fuller setting speak to the matter at hand. The interpretation, set in writing, was called a "pesher" (interpretation). It left the biblical language in place, not replacing generic names or images with the specifics of the current situation. That way, the pesher could continue to guide people in understanding how to respond to live in a way that respects the Word and presence of God.
Pope John Paul II used this approach as Bishop of Krakow: he wrote about it in his book Gift and Mystery.
Today's O antiphon calls upon Eternal Wisdom to guide us in the way of "holy prudence." What is prudence, after all, but practical wisdom? And what better way to be guided than learning to read our own lives in the light of the Bible?

Sr Helena: in the Top Ten!

Catholic mom-blogger Lisa Hendey has our very own Sr. Helena Raphael Burns in the #2 spot of the Ten Most Fascinating Catholics of 2008--right after Pope Benedict XVI himself!
Who would be on your top ten list?

Better late than never!

This TV report dates to late October; I only got the link now! It's about the possible miracle (being attributed to our Founder's intercession). (Someone should have given the poor reporter an Italian pronunciation guide!)

O

It's the shortest, but most expressive word in the Bible, and starting today it characterizes the liturgy. Every one of the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve features an O Antiphon: it appears in the Liturgy of the Hours as an antiphon and at Mass as the Alleluia Verse. The translations in the liturgy are pretty truncated, however, so you don't get the full sense of how much Scripture is packed into each of these invocations of the coming Lord.
Today's fuller antiphon goes something like this: O Eternal Wisdom, proceeding from out of the mouth of the Most High, who reaches from end to end and orders all things mightily and sweetly, come now to direct us in the way of holy prudence.
Part of the reasons these antiphons appear today is that the Advent liturgy shifts into high gear on December 17. Suddenly, we move from "generic Advent" to "intense and immediate preparation." Look at the readings for Mass: we have gone from general prophecies of a great figure, of peace, of consolation to today's "countdown to the King" in the form of Jacob's prophecy of kingship for Judah and Matthew's genealogy, tracing the bloodline of the kingship to David and then to Jesus Christ.
From now on, every day of Advent will show us the step-by-step fulfillment of the prophecies: the annunciation to Joseph; the announcement of John the Baptist's birth; the annunciation to Mary; the Visitation; the birth of the Baptist. (Isn't the Liturgy amazing?)

Christmas Novena, Day 2

Today the O Antiphons begin! See my 2006 post about this secret Christmas code.
Now, for the Novena, we start with a mission-oriented thought, this time from our Founder:
"A good part of today's world suffers from a shortage of bread. There is a far greater shortage of the spiritual bread brought by Jesus. 'I am the Bread of Life,' he said. Countless people live completely unaware of their destiny. They have no other thought than the present. Yet in a short time, death brings them to eternity. There are few to prepare them with this bread. 'There is no one to break it for them.' They die of hunger without understanding their hunger. Jesus is Bread-Truth. The apostle of the media of communication is another Jesus Christ who echoes and amplifies to people of every age and place what Jesus preached and taught on earth."
Bl. James Alberione

Sr. Julie Answers the Mystery Question: What to give nuns?

God bless Sr. Julie for tackling, straight-on, the question in the back of your minds right now: What on earth is an appropriate gift (Christmas, birthday, whatever) for a nun?

Christmas Novena, Day 1

Time for everybody's favorite novena! Last year (and the year before), I resolved to redo this video novena, and every year greater priorities prevent me from seeing that through. So I offer you the now-venerable sung novena for the third year in a row.

This is the novena we've sung in community since I entered; it is an adaptation of a 17th century version from northern Italy. This year we are adding some mission-oriented readings; when I get a copy I will add them here.

Christmas giving

Mom is giving chickens and goats this year as Christmas gifts. Of course, the recipients won't see so much as a feather: the chickens and goats are going to needy families through Heifer International. It's a wonderful way to help a family provide food, work and an economic leg-up, and so much more meaningful as a Christmas gift than giving new stuff to people who already have lots.
Today I also got a request from "The Women's Centers" of greater Chicagoland. Now there's an opportunity for some profoundly meaningful Christmas giving: a donation to this organization, or to the equally worthy "Aid for Women" or any number of similar groups is a way to honor the Lord's coming among us as a needy, helpless infant by providing women in crisis pregnancy situations with the medical and practical resources they need. Many of these crisis pregnancy centers host Christmas parties for mothers and children; call to see what supplies they are low on, or what special items they may need. You could also send a donation to places like St. Fidelis, where homeless mothers and their babies find shelter and resources to get a new start.
Whether it's chickens and goats or baby wipes and blankets, Christmas giving can be more meaningful than ever.

A Question of Authority

When "they" put together the new lectionary (book of Mass readings), the idea was that for Sundays and special liturgical seasons, the first reading (generally from the Old Testament) would have some sort of connection to the Gospel. Ordinarily, the regular daily Mass readings (outside of Advent, Lent and Easter) do not have this; the first reading runs in its own cycle, taking passages more or less in order from the chosen books, which also go more or less in order.
Advent, as I said, is one of the exceptions: the daily Mass readings are as carefully put together as the typical Sunday readings in Ordinary Time (not that homilists are always that clear on just what connection the formulators ever saw between some of the readings!). At any rate, I have really been enjoying the Advent readings and the way they connect, day after day. Until today. Today's readings seem so dissimilar that it would almost seem to be a weekday in good old, unmatched Ordinary Time. About the only connection that immediately comes to mind between the prophecy of Balaam, son of Beor (found in the book of Numbers) and the Gospel for the day is that Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of Balaam's prophetic message. That's pretty slim pickings for a meditation (never mind a homily!). But I did find a bit of a hint in the Gospel. It's a matter of authority.
In the Gospel, Jesus' preaching is interrupted by a rather rude question: Who gave you the right to teach? Jesus refuses to give an answer, since the questioners were so little interested in real answers that they couldn't answer his challenge: Where did John the Baptist get his right to baptize? (On the grounds that if they said, "From God," they were open to a charge of disbelief and if they said, "From mere human beings," they would cause a riot, the questioners demurred: "We don't know.")
Balaam, Son of Beor, however, doesn't hesitate a bit in saying where he gets his authority. He prefaces his prophetic blessing with this twice-repeated self-identification: "The one who sees what the Most High sees and knows what the Almighty knows." Not that his message was accepted by those who sent for him. They rejected the unwanted message (of Israel's blessing) and the unerring prophet. His authority wasn't the issue in the end.

You have to read the whole story of Balaam (Numbers 22-24, all three chapters). Poor, noble Balaam ended up being considered a false prophet, but he was what he said he was "one whose eye is true, who sees what the Most High sees and knows what the Almighty knows."

ibelievetoo.org

The nation's atheists seem to be holding massive PR campaigns this year. I heard about the decorated sign (with a snarky message) posted near the nativity scene in Springfield, IL, and the American Humanist Association has underwritten bus ads in the Washington DC area. So one pro-active Catholic in northern Virginia started her own campaign. Find out more!

Sunflowers in the Snow

Here's another picture (of another sister--there are four of them!) from the snow in New Orleans this week. Her neighbor took the photo. Doesn't that poor sunflower look like it is going through the worst day of its life?

Advent Wreath Service: Week 3

Here's the Advent wreath service for Gaudete Sunday (already?!).

Free!

I suppose it's only fitting for a Pauline... that "free" should be among my favorite words.

When I was in fourth grade, I treasured a white, business-card sized paper printed with filigree 'round the edges and the bold inscription: FREE TICKET. On the reverse, in italics, it continued, "It's not good for anything, it's just FREE." I thought that little piece of paper was hysterically funny. Goodness knows how much entertainment I got out of showing it to people, waiting for them to laugh, too, but...relatively few others thought it was anyway near as funny as I did. Nonetheless, "free" remains high on my list.

It is especially fun for me here in Chicago, where marketing agencies test or promote new products, giving them away by the thousands "on every street corner." Today I was handed a cup of microwave stuffing (just add water and microwave!) on the way to Mass. Naturally, on the way back I took the same streets so I could pick up some more.

After all, it was FREE.

And tonight, there is another FREE treat in store for me and one other person (depending on who returns my call): one of our priest friends provided two FREE tickets to the Chicago Symphony!

There's a reason I like that word so much!

Advent 3

Here's a very (very) brief Powerpoint "something" for the Third Week of Advent, courtesy of our Sr. Sergia Ballini and the Generalate of the Daughters of St. Paul. My "candle service" will be coming later.

New bioethics document

Kind of meaningful to have a document on the dignity of the human person issued during Advent, don't you think?

Home again, Home again

Sr. Helena and I made it back to Chicago today--the plane (Southwest) even landed 15 minutes early! Naturally, there's a whole backlog of mail and work and putting-away to do now...
I learned that the TOB class on Wednesday ended up like a silent movie, despite the help (of Mark Northrup, I presume). Somehow, the mic wasn't working. (I'll try to figure that problem out before the next class--because I'll be in New Orleans that week!)
We came home to a whole new look in the book center: while we were away (yesterday, in fact), new book units were delivered and installed. I'll get some "before" and "after" pictures up asap (after I, um, catch up on the other things). Downstairs, our First Friday movie night was postponed until tonight, for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They're watching--what else?--Guadalupe. (That is the best Juan Diego!) But I am heading now to chapel for some face time with Jesus. Tomorrow I hope to prepare and post an Advent wreath service for the 3rd Week of Advent (can you believe it?).

Tech trouble

Sr Bridget is getting advice by phone to solve a big problem: our wireless mic system is picking up a radio station!

Set up

Here we go getting ready for the final concert...

Snow falling amid. . .

Palm trees? that's my sister (in New Orleans). i got several emails and pics from home today.

Today at Mass, the phrase "heaven and earth are full of your glory" really struck me. Especially the "and earth" part. "The kindness and love of God our Savior has appeared." (I love that reading from Christmas day.) That's the focal point of Christmas, in a way: the glory of God filling the earth; becoming one with the earth in human nature. Heaven and earth are always full of God's glory, but I rarely notice it or give thanks and praise for it. I get too absorbed by the non-glorious things, the falling-short, the missteps. And the glory of God is there, filling the earth all along.

TOB tonight

While Sr. Helena and I are in Philadelphia (concert at Villanova tonight), the sisters home in Chicago will be hosting the monthly Theology of the Body online study group with Fr. Loya. I gave them a run-through on the equipment and set-up before I left (and a refresher by phone last night), but this is the first time the sisters will be handling the technical part of this great program, so pray for them. And join them (if all works out well, God willing!) at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (6:30 in Chicago) on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/theology-of-the-body

Comfort ye

Today's first reading complements the feast day magnificently. Juan Diego was sent with a message of comfort, and even though the flowers of Guadalupe have wilted the word of the message is as meaningful as ever.

Getting out of Boston

Sister Sean at the wheel, but will the traffic let us get to Mass Pike?

Unfreedom of Speech in NY Bill #826

Tuesday, December 9th, the NY City Council will take a full vote on the so-called "Clinic Access Bill" #826. I first learned about this bill while in New York last week. According to the Brooklyn Tablet, "The bill was designed by NYC Council President Christine Quinn and members of NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the NY Civil Liberties Union." What they are seeking is to allow anyone--regardless of special interest--to level a charge of harassment against another individual in matters concerning abortion clinics, without the refinement of evidence. (Honestly! The bill provides for the possibility of an accusation to be made on the basis of the accused's unstated "intention"!)

This from the Brooklyn Tablet:

Msgr. Reilly said that the members of the Council, after they heard their testimony, said “that they respected and admired the great work that we do, and that this amendment would not affect the Helpers. But the problem is that this will allow somebody without evidence to make an accusation against a sidewalk counselor. The biggest thing is that this is not necessary, because we aren’t breaking the law. If the law is being broken, then yes, increase the penalties. But we are not breaking the law.”
In a statement by Quinn, she said that the legislation “will ease the burden of proof
currently required in order to prosecute harassers.” The current local law requires prosecutors to “prove that a defendant intended to prevent someone from obtaining or assisting in reproductive health services.” Under this bill, proof of such intent would no longer be required for prosecution. Additionally, either a clinic or a patient will be able to file a harassment complaint. Currently, only an individual’s complaints about such behavior can be prosecuted.
“This would strip away the freedom of speech person-to-person at NYC abortion clinics,
prevent literature handouts, and personal communication, and strip away key First Amendment rights from people who want to offer help to women in crisis pregnancy,” Slattery said.
In an e-mail sent by both Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and Cardinal Edward Egan to parishioners in their respective dioceses, it stated that “this bill will lead to unfair prosecutions of ordinary citizens who wish to express their free speech rights, and will be subject to criminal and civil penalties merely because some influential groups consider their speech to be unwelcome. Ultimately, the Clinic Access Bill is unfair to women, who have a right to information before they make the decision on whether or not to have an abortion.”
The NYC Council will hold a second public hearing before the law is voted on, which could come on Dec. 9. Pro-life advocates are encouraging everyone to contact their City Council members and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports the new legislation, to express opposition to the bill. To find the name of your City Council representative, go to http://council.nyc.gov and click on Council Members. You can also e-mail Mayor Bloomberg at http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html.

Advent in Person

I was reflecting today that the Immaculate Conception is the only historical "day of creation" that is celebrated liturgically. We celebrate the act of creation--and new creation--on Easter, it seems to me, but Mary is the only creature whose coming to be gets an annual commemoration. (No, the Incarnation of the Word doesn't count!)
It's supremely appropriate that this feast day always falls in Advent: Mary is Advent in person: readiness, attentiveness, responsiveness. All the qualities of Advent are Marian qualities. In Mary, creation itself was open and available for the Incarnation.

I had really been looking forward to our concert this evening at the Marian shrine of La Salette in Attleboro. Again, it was so supremely appropriate to celebrate with music at Mary's shrine on her feast day. But we'll have to wait until next year: a huge power outage has Attleboro in a cold, dark, freeze today. The Shrine's famous "Festival of Lights" isn't glowing, either. So the choir is taking a holiday on this holy day...an opportunity for me to make a bit of a retreat day (and to fix my hem, which decided to let go of its last bits of thread this morning)...

This way to Boston

Concert tonight!

Two

Two moving carousels, all eight reindeer (animated), a giant St Nick and moving figures.

But wait! there's more!

Too bad you can't hear the music, too.

82nd St

Three houses in a row with great lights. . .

Still on 82nd St

A whole Nutcracker scene

82nd St

They must have a block-wide contest!

Sancta Hilaritas

Earlier this week we got a complaint (one) about the simple choreography that accompanies our music. I rather suspect that the caller never heard about Sancta Hilaritas. No, not Saint Hilary, or even Saint Hilarious, but Holy Fun, characteristic of St Philip Neri's ministry and of the lives of many, many saints.
It's one of the ancient secrets of convent life, but the Daughters of St. Paul bring it to you live on stage: the community recreation that generally takes place among sisters, in the confines of the cloister. (You've heard of St. Teresa of Avila and her dancing, right?)
One person this week had a problem with that. They missed out on all the fun. Are they also missing out on some of the holiness?

Here's the local coverage of last night's concert (the biggest Christmas event on Staten Island)... The newspaper featured a picture on the front page, and three large pictures on the inside page with the full article. The highlight for us (and possibly for the Monsignor in the article) was when the venerable pastor of St. Peter's Parish came up and played the conga drums for a calypso-style song. Turns out that in his pre-clerical days, James Dorney played drums on the road with Desi Arnaz. (We're going back a while, now.)
We have another concert tonight; this one is at St. Athanasius Parish in Brooklyn. They were our best audience last year, and some of the people from last night's event said they were coming tonight, too. (Many people, Msgr. Dorney among them, said that it was our best concert ever.)
There's still another week to go: our final concert is next Thursday in Philadelphia.

Mile--make that "mike" check

Mile check for the big concert tonight!

Advent 2 Wreath Service

Here's a service for the Second Week of Advent. (Again, it's inspired by the Final Message of the Synod, as suggested by our Mother General, who attended the Synod.)

Our season opener Christmas Concert went very well last night. The only glitch was that our audio equipment overloaded the circuits in the parish auditorium (an amazing number of parishes here have a fully equipped combination gym-auditorium, complete with stage lights, backdrops, etc). So every five minutes or so, the stage lights would darken. And when it was time for Sr. Bridget to play "O Holy Night" on the electric keyboard, nothing happened. So I did it a capella. Which was actually quite a nice effect.
This morning, all the singers slept in, so we shared a late and very enjoyable breakfast, going back over some of the special things that happened in the concert. I made part of my meditation, using the day's readings. Isaiah had foretold that "the Lord of Hosts will provide for all peoples... all nations..." and today we honor St. Francis Xavier, who was so effective in bringing the nourishment and consolation of the Gospel to the world. That sense of "all": all peoples, all nations, the "whole earth" is a dominant theme in Isaiah, and it is epitomized in Francis, who died at the gates of China, trying to reach one more nation, one more people.
Well, tonight we hope to bring that same message and consolation to the ends of the earth, even to the far corners of... Brooklyn!

Gifts of the Spirit

Today's liturgy has so many beautiful points in it, it is hard to focus on just one or two: I keep wanting to develop each strand! But limitation is built into life in time, and so I had to let one (major) aspect guide my prayer today. (I do love how the Advent readings clearly mirror each other, don't you? At least that helped unify things!)
The first reading is Isaiah's prophecy of the "peaceable kingdom" where the wolf lies down with the lamb and so on. But before that poetic description of a universe in harmony with itself because it is in harmony with God (as "filled with knowledge of the Lord as the sea is with water"), Isaiah mentioned the little shoot coming from the seemingly dead trunk of Jesse's family tree. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him... [and all the Gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, counsel, strength...] and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord." This is what is precisely mirrored in the Gospel: "Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, to you I offer praise...' "
In Jesus, the earth was filled with knowledge of the Lord and erupted in praise that could hardly be expressed in human words; all we get is a simple hint of what it means for Jesus to be "rejoicing in the Holy Spirit," who (according to Paul) prays within us with inexpressible utterances. God is delighted that we should delight in him: "Take your delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desire." Delight and desire are Advent gifts, gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Coming and Going

Here it is, the first of December and the first weekday of Advent, and the liturgy is full of coming and going. Our Advent hymns all seem to be pleas, calling God to "come to us": O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; Come Thou Long Expected Jesus; Savior of the Nations Come... But the readings for today have a totally different angle. The "come" first appears in Isaiah's magnificent prophecy. The "many peoples" of the earth are encouraging one another, "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob..." It is a proposal, a call for companionship on a pilgrimage to God. And it means "going" from what was before, as we find in the Responsorial Psalm (which is truly a response to the first reading's invitation): "I rejoiced when they said to me, 'Let us go to God's house'."
But there is another "coming" in the Gospel, and it demonstrates what the Catechism says: that "God goes in search of man." When the centurion (representative of Isaiah's "many peoples") approaches Jesus to tell of his suffering servant, Jesus responds with an offer and a promise: "I will come and cure him."
All these comings and goings, both on the part of the "many nations" and on the part of God in Jesus, are the heart of Advent.