Joy to the World!

As we draw closer to the celebration of Christ's birth I have witnessed my children grow more excited each day - full of joy-filled anticipation for all that will happen and certainly for what they will receive under the tree on Christmas morning! My reflection, as I watched my children, led me to this question: Are we filled with this same child-like anticipation as we approach Christmas this year?

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that, "In the birth of Jesus, God comes to us and asks us to receive Him, so that He can be born in our lives and transform them, and our world, by the power of His love." (General Audience, December 21, 2012) This is the Good News the angels proclaimed to the shepherds. This is the Good News that should permeate our entire beings as Baptized children of God. This is the Good News that so many around us desperately need to hear and see witnessed by those of us who call ourselves disciples of Christ!

This Christmas offers us another opportunity to receive anew Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, that we might be His instruments of light to our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and the strangers in our midst.  The joy of the season reminds us of our true identity as followers of the Risen Christ, who defeated sin and death that we might have life and have it abundantly.

As we gather with our loved ones, especially at the Eucharistic table, let us ask the Lord of all life, to enkindle in the mangers of our hearts, a profound joy - that most beautiful fruit of the Holy Spirit.  And may that joy, seen so beautifully in the eyes of the little ones during these graced days, move us throughout the New Year as instruments of the New Evangelization.

Merry Christmas!

By Michael Lavigne

A Child is Born

Great news! We have a brand new granddaughter.  Maryn was born November 27 and weighed in at 7 lbs. 6.7oz.  I know that her parents are so proud they could bust.  I know, too, that they are filled with hopes and dreams for Maryn and her future. And this brings me to my point.

We are very soon going to celebrate the day of Jesus’ birth.  Although a birth of humble beginnings, I have no doubt that Mary and Joseph were filled with hopes and dreams for Jesus’ future, not unlike new parents of today. We bring our babies to the church for baptism and have done so for hundreds of years.  Mary and Joseph “brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required. . . “(Luke 2:27). Both rituals are cause for celebration.  

Yet how much celebrating would we do if we heard the words that Simeon said to Mary: “This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel.   He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts.  And sorrow, like a sharp sword will break your own heart.”    (Luke 2: 34, 35)

We celebrate Christmas with food and gifts.  We spend time with friends and loved ones and rightly so.  We celebrate the birth of the One who would later sacrifice his life.  Let us keep is mind that this Child became the hope for our future and the future of many generations. A Child is born. Jesus, the greatest gift of all, is with us! 

By Judy Michaud

A Hidden Gift

This season of Advent is really so epic.  All the readings lately (mostly from the prophet Isaiah) speak of this great thing that God is about to do.  It’s like all of creation lies in wait.  The nation has been waiting and longing and you can almost feel the anticipation.  Something huge is about to happen!  And we know that something huge indeed does happen.  But it is hidden – a tiny baby, born in a lowly stable, to two young and inexperienced parents.  Many people missed it.  They didn’t see.  They failed to recognize.  They expected something different.  And yet, this hidden, humble child is God.  He comes down to the earth he created and is the answer that all of creation was waiting for, longing for!

On my recent trip to the Holy Lands, I found myself reflecting on this great mystery of the Incarnation.  Of course, in preparing for the trip, I expected I would ponder such things in Bethlehem – the site of the manger and the shepherd’s fields, the place where God became man.  But I was surprised to find myself awestruck a bit earlier in the trip during our visit to Nazareth.  While celebrating Mass at the site of Mary’s home in Nazareth in the crypt of the huge Basilica of the Annunciation, I was struck by the profound reality that it is not in fact at Bethlehem where God touches down to earth.  It is in Nazareth.  We think of the circumstances of the birth of the Christ-child and we are struck by the humility, by the poverty, by the hidden way in which he chooses to come.  But the Incarnation actually happened in Nazareth – in an even more hidden, more humble way.  God touched down to earth in the womb of the Virgin Mary and no one else even knew!  God became man and there was no visible change.  No one could see the tiny baby growing in Mary’s womb.  No one – not even a shepherd or a magi – bowed down to give him the homage he was due.

God could have chosen to come to earth in power and might, displaying his majesty for all the world to see.  And yet he didn’t.  He chose to come as a baby, first veiled in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and then born in the little town of Bethlehem.  He comes in weakness, in vulnerability.  And this same God who came hidden in the womb of Mary comes to us each and every day in the hidden, humble gift of the Eucharist.  In the Eucharist we have truly present the Body, Blood, Soul, & Divinity of our God!  He humbles himself that we might physically hold him within us!  The humility and vulnerability of our God is astounding!  And yet, so often we go before him clothed with whatever it is we feel we must cover ourselves with – our pride, acts of piety, sense of self-sufficiency.  Our God comes to us in the most vulnerable of ways and yet we refuse to be vulnerable before him.  Let us in these final weeks of Advent allow ourselves to be stripped of the clothing we hold so dear and appear before our God in humility, in poverty, in complete vulnerability that He might love us as we are!

By Sarah Houde

18 Days and Counting

As I write this, my son and daughter-in-law are anticipating the birth of their first child, a girl.  Naturally they’re excited, as am I.  I’ve crocheted 2 blankets for the baby and I’ve done plenty of shopping.  We touch base regularly after she visits the doctor.  “How’s the baby? How much does the doctor think she weighs?  How are you feeling?”  The baby is due November 26 but the doctor said the baby will probably come sooner. I keep checking the calendar:  18 days and counting. . .   I’ve reminded my son at least twice in the past week or so:  Make sure you call me when you leave for the hospital. Don’t forget.

The first Sunday of Advent is right around the corner.  We are all aware that it is a time of waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus.  But how many of us get really excited about this brief season of the liturgical calendar?  How many of us feel the excitement that I’m feeling over the impending birth of my first granddaughter?  Granted, the birth of a baby generates excitement for most people. Shouldn’t the birth of our Lord and Savior also generate excitement and anticipation?  I know we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping, decorating, baking and the busy-ness of the season. Yet in the midst of our preparations are we feeling an element of joy and excitement as we think about the coming birth of Jesus or are we simply going through the paces so we can get it over and done with? 

This Advent, let’s take a deep breath and relax.  Christmas will come and go whether we bake 10 kinds of cookies or 2 kinds.  Christ’s birth will be celebrated regardless of how many gifts we can afford.  Take the time to gather with family and friends and celebrate the real reason for the season. The King is coming!  

By Judy Michaud

Breaking into the Ordinary

I just returned from ten amazing days in the Holy Land.  What an incredible blessing to walk in the places where Jesus Himself walked and pray in the places where He and his apostles prayed and kneel at the site where Redemption was won for the entire world.  It certainly makes the mysteries of our faith such as the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection come to life in a whole new way!  I’m overwhelmed with gratitude when I reflect upon all that I was blessed to experience.  A verse from the Gospel of Matthew has continued to resonate in the few weeks I’ve been back.   “Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it and hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matthew 13:17).  My life will never be the same because of all that I was blessed to see, hear, and experience in those ten days.

I was struck by so many things during my time in Israel that I think it’s going to take my whole life to contemplate and process all that I saw and experienced, but one of the very first things that struck me most was the ordinary-ness of the region of Galilee.  During the first half of our trip we stayed in Tiberias, literally right on western shore of the Sea of Galilee.  As I gazed across the sea in the days we were there, I was so struck by the fact that God entered human time and history in a very real, very tangible, very ordinary place.  There’s really nothing too astounding about the region of Galilee in Israel.  The Sea is certainly beautiful and surrounded by very unique desert-like mountains, but it is a very real place.  Standing there, I could just see Peter and the other apostles going about their daily work.  Seeing the physical places where Jesus worked miracles and called his disciples to follow him caused me to imagine what that would have been like for them.  What was it about Jesus that drew them to him?  What caused them to abandon all else to follow him?  How was it that he rocked their world?  Did they recognize that something was different about him?  Did they know that God was walking in their midst? 

There’s something so beautiful about this reality that God chose to enter time and history in a very simple, ordinary place.  It certainly shows the humility of our God and the simplicity with which he comes.  But it doesn’t stop there.  It points to the intimacy of the relationship he desires to have with each one of us.  Just as God touched down to human history in the womb of a virgin in a little place called Nazareth in the region of Galilee, so too does he desire to touch down into our lives in the ordinary circumstances we find ourselves in day after day.  He wants to break into human history each and every day by breaking into our hearts, by breaking into our lives.  And He often does so in very real, very ordinary ways.  I’m sure that there were many people living in Galilee at the time who did not let Jesus affect their lives, many who were either too busy to notice, or too cautious to care.  And some who simply did not recognize that God was walking in their midst.  How often do we fail to recognize the very simple, very ordinary ways that God comes to us, that he touches down to earth, hoping to break into our lives and into our hearts?  Let us not be like those who failed to notice, but rather let us be like the apostles whose lives became radically different when God broke into their lives, who in the midst of their ordinary lives were so drawn to him and to his presence in their midst that they abandoned all to follow him!



By Sarah Houde

Fraught with Danger?

In a couple of weeks, on the First Sunday of Advent, Catholic Churches in English-speaking countries will begin to use the New Roman Missal.  This impending change in the translation of the prayers at Mass has received much attention and  the efforts to prepare the faithful have been fairly comprehensive. Websites, articles, books and trainings have been numerous and easily available to priests, lay leaders and the laity alike.

Last spring I attended one such training outside of my diocese.  It was, overall, fairly informative and hope-filled....until one speaker offered some concern about the new words that would be recited by the faithful.  The presenter opined that phrases like “through my fault, through my fault, through my own grievous fault” and the words “incarnation” and “consubstantial” were, and I quote, “fraught with danger.”

I am certain that this individual was well-intentioned and concerned that all those who are responsible for teaching the faith consider the importance of catechizing our children properly about the changes, but I still found the choice of words to be inconsistent with what should be seen as a blessed opportunity to teach or re-teach about the Mass and the Eucharist. In fact this is a hope-filled opportunity to move into a new chapter of teaching about the beauty of the Mass and the Eucharist - “the source and summit of the Christian life.”

In many ways our children and youth will be models of embracing these changes and appreciating the beauty of the words that will be heard, recited and sung.  At a recent retreat my office facilitated the nearly 300 youth and young adults who were gathered gave a standing ovation after two of our diocesan priests chanted the new “Gloria.” Rather than be worried about the “danger” that is supposedly lurking behind the “new” words  we should focus on simply getting our children and young people to Mass so that they can experience the richness of our faith and be nourished by the Word of God and Jesus’ Body and Blood.

It is my hope that parishes (and parents) will embrace this opportunity with passion and conviction. It is my hope that they offer ample opportunities in the months and years ahead, for all age groups, to help them grow in their knowledge and experience of the Mass. It is my hope that through these efforts a new generation of saints will fall in love with the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Because in the end not teaching about the Mass and Eucharist is what is truly “fraught with danger.”

By Michael Lavigne

P.S.  Our office has created a page at our website to highlight programs, videos, and other resources which can be used to supplement a parish’s catechetical efforts in teaching about the Mass and the Eucharist.  You can access this page at www.olffmaine.com/newromanmissalcatechesis

UPDATE: Another Miracle of Life

Back in September I wrote a post about my soon to be born daughter and the world in which she would grow up.  I am happy announce that our latest miracle of life, Julia Rose, was born on October 27.  Both mother and daughter are doing well and being enjoyed by the rest of the family!

Welcome to our world Julia.

 

By Michael Lavigne