Christmas

Christmas Mass of Shepherds – (Cycle B) – December 24/25 2023

Frackville, From the Pastor /

What really brings us to this temple today? Why is it that every year at this time the streets of our cities are empty, that there are fewer cars on the roads, that so many temples, which seem too spacious on most Sundays, are now overcrowded. What means that even those who are not used to bothering God on a daily basis, today feel free to sing “Lulajże Jezuniu” or … at the top of their voices. Is it just a matter of tradition, childhood memories, the unique mood of this “silent and holy night”? Although the tiredness of the pre-Christmas rush and the experiences of Christmas Eve are not conducive to reflection, let us consider for a moment what Christmas is really about. Not the commercial one, which has been going on in advertising and supermarkets for weeks, but the real one, which we are starting today.

It is not easy to discover the true meaning of Christmas at a time when it has become one of the most attractive goods for sale, from which you can make great money. It is also not easy to extract the content of Christmas from beyond the screen of folklore and easy sentimentality, idyll and lights. At the center of Christmas is an event that changed the history of the world. Christmas, however, is not only about remembering something that happened a long time ago. It is, above all, “Good News” addressed to all of us. It must include the wonder of faith that comes from the realization that “the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” is “the Savior and our God”, the One who became man for us and for our salvation. The true meaning of what happened in Bethlehem is revealed to us by St. Paul in the second reading of the Mass: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.”

Every Christmas tells us about the extraordinary and incomprehensible closeness of God. He reminds us that the Child “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” is truly Emmanuel – “God with us.” How is it possible for the One who has existed for centuries to be born? How is it possible that the Creator and Lord of the universe comes to earth in poverty and abandonment? – Saint Paul tells us: “For your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” The “Lord of great majesty” became man out of love for us.

There is no Christmas without faith. To recognize the presence of “God with us” and allow Him to act in our lives requires something of the attitude of shepherds. First of all, an attitude based on simplicity and faith. They were the first to believe that the Baby in the manger was the awaited Messiah, the Redeemer of the world. What they heard was so important to them that they set out without the slightest delay. Certainly, they were also driven by curiosity, but above all by being moved by a great matter that had been announced to them, small and insignificant people. Shepherds teach us to put God first. They teach us inner freedom, capable of putting other activities into the background – no matter how important they are – in order to go to God and let Him enter our lives. Today, for so many people, the things of God are no longer important. On the list of the most important things, God is often at the bottom. Today, many Christians have problems with the truth about God being close to them. It is difficult for them to come to terms with the closeness of God that goes beyond imagination. Often we also prefer to deal with a distant God, standing at a safe distance, with a God who does not interfere too much in our affairs. We also sometimes dream of a powerful Savior, some kind of magician who will finally solve all our difficulties in one stroke. God, who comes to us once again in the mystery of Christmas, will not impose His presence on anyone, just as He did not impose himself on the inhabitants of the houses in Bethlehem, who did not open the doors on the night of His coming into the world. He only expresses a burning desire to come to each of us. And He will come if you let Him. In a moment, while reciting our “Confession of Faith”, we will genuflect to the well-known words: “He descended from heaven for us, men, and for our salvation, and became man.” When saying these words, let each of us do it with a sense of great gratitude and think only of ourselves: It was for me, truly, that God became man.

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Nativity of the Lord’s Day (A) – December 25, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Christianity is not a narrow faith. The Gospel tells us that every human being is enlightened by God, whether they recognize God or not. Members of other religions, and people without faith, have light. The light of reason, of goodness and of truth is found in everyone, but many do not realize it as the light of God. Therefore God sent John the Baptist to witness and speak for the light, so that everyone might believe. The second reading reminds us that “At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets.” But now God has spoken through God’s Son, Jesus, who came to live among us: “The Word was made flesh.” This is the belief grasped by St Thomas, who on seeing Jesus after his resurrection murmured, “My Lord and my God”, words we might utter silently when the host and chalice are raised above the altar at Mass. 

Why was Jesus born? Why did God send Him into the world? The Gospel tells us that to all who accepted Him “he gave power to become children of God”. Those who recognize that the light within them, the desire to do good, the desire to love, the desire to seek the truth, is implanted by God really have become “children of God”. When we grasp this we are impelled to adore the God who made us, the God who is the light within us, the source and origin of love, beauty and goodness. The wonder of Christmas is that, like the ancient Roman devotees of Saturn, we know how to celebrate with singing and dancing, with feasting and fun, and exchanging presents as signs of love. Like them, gathering round their temple to rejoice in the light, we too gather here to rejoice in the light of the world. Christ came down to earth in order to raise us to heaven. He lived an earthly life so that even on earth we might begin to live the life of heaven as children of God.

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Holy Family – “B” – January 3, 2021

Frackville, From the Pastor /

There’s a lot we’re not told about this event. There is a lack of accommodation – no room at the inn. The story of the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple points forward to the death Jesus will face, the knowledge of which – Simeon says to Jesus’ mother Mary – will be a sword that will pierce Mary’s own soul too. This story is about parents with a new baby who are anxious to do what their tradition, their religion, requires following the birth of the first male child. In fact, this is related to an ancient custom in the Law of the Lord – the dedication of the firstborn male child of every family to God.

There is a depth to this narrative which is not immediately apparent. We have Simeon’s prophetic words of recognition that the child brought by Mary and Joseph is none other than the light to enlighten all nations that the prophets had foretold. We may be familiar with the detail in this story, but oddly there is a feature that is often missed. Jesus is presented to God by His parents at a very young age – forty days old, to be precise. The child Jesus will grow to be the light for all nations. In the presentation of the barely one-month-old Jesus in the Temple, we have more than a ritual performed by new parents, dedicating their child to God. Jesus’ presentation in the Temple is a first. People spoke of this being the place where God lived among humans. Here Israelites felt closer to God than anywhere else. When Jesus is brought to the Temple, God enters the religious world of humans for the first time: Jesus is presented to God – and God is presented to humans.

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Christmas Eve – “B” – December 24, 2020

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The greatest Christian feast is Easter, which is linked to the timing of the Jewish feast of Passover and occurs in springtime. So why do we celebrate the birth of the Savior in December, which in the northern part of the world is the middle of winter? Winter can be depressing time for many people: the weather is cold, the days are short. In short, it is because it is when Jesus was born.

St. Luke tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town associated with King David. It was to David that God promised an unbroken line of royal descendants, and Jesus is frequently referred to as “Son of David”. In Jesus, the promise to David is fulfilled. The picture detail about Jesus being born in a stable may have a deeper meaning: an inn, and we might best understand this term today in the sense of a motel, is not suitable place of residence for someone who has a right to be in a particular town or city, especially someone related to the most famous person to come from Bethlehem. Jesus is not a temporary resident, someone just passing through: He is the most significant individual in the house of David, and deserves more appropriate accommodation, even a stable. God does not think or act as we might expect.

We believe that, in Jesus, God took on our human nature. This tells us that human nature is basically good, and that in Jesus we see what a proper human life can be. In Jesus’ dealing with people, we have a glimpse of what God is really like. Our feast today emphasizes that Jesus is truly a human being. When we hear children crying, instead of becoming annoyed, we might use that sound as a reminder of one of the basic teachings of our faith: that God came into our world as one of us. Christmas is such a popular festival, perhaps because it reminds us of a time when our lives were simpler, when it was easy to believe the mysteries of our faith. If our faith remains only at the level of a child’s, it may not make sense to us as adults. Today’s feast tells us that God wants to be involved in the whole of our lives – if we allow God in to brighten our lives.

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Holy Family Solemnity “A” – January 5, 2020

From the Pastor /

Today’s Gospel provides two accounts of important journeys.

The Holy Family flee for their lives to Egypt because of the persecution of king Herod who is about to slaughter the Holy Innocents. Joseph shows his trust in God when he listens to the angel who appears to him in a dream and takes action to protect his family. Mary and Joseph with Jesus, head south by the coastal road towards Gaza, the desert and Egypt. Parents will be able to imagine the fear of Mary for her child. Their future is unknown and they can depend only on each other and God. Their example serves to encourage and strengthen families who flee for their lives.

Later they travel back to Nazareth, the home town of Mary. Life is to be more stable and Joseph as carpenter will work as a carpenter. He would be like so many of the people in the Church who have traveled to find work in the building trade and on construction sites.

The flight into Egypt is a reminder that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and found a new life in the kingdom of the Pharaohs. Although this Joseph was a victim of betrayal in his family, God protected him and later reunited his family around him. We, as baptized, are called into God’s family and to serve, love and build our families in faith and prayer.

Today’s Solemnity is an invitation to give thanks to God for the gift of our families, especially when the family is scattered by distance and circumstance. God is working in our families to help us grow in faith. The family is the first school of love. Such love can be difficult when children are to be looked after, elderly parents cared for, and events bring tragedy into family life. The example of the first Joseph promises the hope of reconciliation when there is betrayal or division. The Holy Family can inspire our actions. We entrust our families to the care of the Holy Family.

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II Sunday in Ordinary Time “C” – January 20, 2019

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Today’s Gospel reading is about a wedding, one that Jesus and His disciples attended in Cana. The bridal couple were probably comparative strangers, as was the custom in those days. They, too, may have been “surprise by joy” as they entered the lifelong process of deepening love and mutual discovery. The wedding celebration at Cana conveys an important truth about God’s desire to be one with God’s people in a new covenantal relationship. This was not a new message. The prophet Isaiah in our first reading today describes how the Lord will “wed” His faithful people, “like a young man marrying a virgin”. People did not expect such an event until the end of time, so it came as a surprise when Jesus announced that the reign of God was already arriving. Those who were poor in Jesus’ day didn’t expect to be so blessed. When Mary observed that the wine had run out, it is as though she were lamenting a faith whose joy had run dry. She knew that faith is not about rules but relationship.

The wedding at Cana is a kind of parable, showing how God longs to relate to us, not in harsh or exacting judgment, but in tender, faithful love. In the presence of Jesus those huge stone ceremonial vessels containing water for purifying began instead to overflow with wine for rejoicing. The same change takes place within the believer’s heart: we may feel glad and uplifted instead of sad and sinful. The “best wine” has been saved until now, as the steward of the last feast said; it has been saved for us. St. John tells us that there were six of jars. Since the number 7 is the Jewish idea of perfection, 6 stands a symbol of incompleteness. However hard we may try, we can never achieve holiness by our own efforts. In our relationships and in our work, it may sometimes feel as though the joy run out and that we have nothing left to give anyone else. The let us turn to Jesus in our incompleteness. “Do whatever He tells you,” says Mary to us, as she said at Cana. This is our chance to begin again, to accept His forgiveness and healing, and allow God’s Spirit to fill our hearts. Jesus didn’t say to the servants at Cana, “Store that good wine until the end of time.” He said, “Draw it now.”

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Epiphany of the Lord “C” – January 6, 2019

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Today’s story from St. Matthew’s Gospel provides us with an insight into how men and women 2000 years ago would stargaze and learnt to plot the course of a journey in doing so. It is worth pondering just how challenging journeys in those days must have been. There were none of the modern means of transport and travel, and yet we know that men and women had by then migrated from one continent to another and trade routes were already well established. Beasts of burden, like camels and donkeys, carrying not only the travelers but their belongings, made long journeys possible.

St. Matthew was writing for his own Jewish people and one of his concerns was that they grasped the fact that Jesus, while He had come to liberate them, had also come to liberate all men and women of all time. Having helped his own people make the necessary connection with the prophecy about Bethlehem being the place towards which they were heading, he also links their journey with Isaiah’s prophetic vision of the nations seeing the light and traveling to pay homage with their gifts. The gold points us to the fact that Christ child has come to establish the kingdom of God. The incense reveals that He is no ordinary child but God’s Son, while myrrh warns us of the disturbing prospect of His passion and death: His body will need to be anointed after His death.

The Church has incorporated the wonderful symbols of the wise men’s gifts into its liturgy. Just think of how we use incense to remind us not only of the preciousness of Christ’s presence in the sacraments, but also of the preciousness of each and every one of us. In the funeral rite the body, which has been anointed in the sacraments, is incensed: a reminder that our mortal bodies are destined for resurrection. In today’s world the invitation to you and me is to be ever conscious of the need to reach out to everyone and embrace all people as God’s precious children. This feast of Epiphany provides a wonderful opportunity for us to think about the expansive and all-embracing nature of God’s revelation to the world, embodied in Jesus, and above all of what it means for us to respond to the needs of our brothers and sisters.

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III Sunday in Ordinary Time (“B”) – January 21, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Lots of motives and events influence people who switch their path in life for a new one. In today’s Gospel we hear of our fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James and John – who dropped their fishing nets when Jesus called them to follow Him. They left behind their daily routine as the Sea of Galilee as soon as they heard the call to a new life. God has a way of showing up in the ordinary places and interrupting the daily routines. This was also the experience of Jonah in today’s first reading, who was sent on a mission by God to the city of Niniveh. When these men accepted the invitation, their lives were different for ever. God’s call led them into uncertain but inspirational future.

Whatever your life is, however you spend your time, whatever circumstances affect normal living, there is in that life Jesus’ call to “Follow me”. It is a call to participate in God’s saving work and the building up of the kingdom of God. That work is always about moving to a larger vision, orienting life in a new direction and experiencing that our own story of life is connected to a much larger story of life, God’s life. It happens in context of our everyday activities: work, school, families, paying the bills, running errands, fixing dinner, relationships and trying to do the right thing. The call to follow Jesus is the call to discipleship. It was not an easy then and it will not be easy now. Christian discipleship is the commitment to live a Gospel life, a marginal life in this place, at this time, whatever the cost. True discipleship means being a witness for justice and peace even in situations of injustice or war. We choose our careers and jobs hoping that we can use the gifts and talents God has given us. What might God be asking you to leave behind? What is standing in the way of you following Jesus today? Christ is calling you. How will you respond?

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Baptism of the Lord (“B”) – January 7, 2018

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The journey to sainthood begins with baptism. When we begin our prayers, we recall our baptism by making the sign of the cross. When we enter a church, we remember our baptism by dipping our fingers in the holy water and blessing ourselves. God’s grace begins to strengthen us in a new way from this time onwards.

Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism, so baptism for each and every person is the gateway to life in the Spirit. We rejoice that we are the beloved of the Lord. Each of us shares in this wonderful title and wears the white garment of baptism. Baptism with water marks our birth into the Church as members of the body of Christ. We become adopted sons and daughters of God whose favor rests upon us. Baptism is also the beginning of the entry into eternal life. On the last day, we will find happiness in the presence of God and every tear will be wiped away to those who deserve it.

At the beginning of this year, it would be good to find out more about our baptism… This year offers a new opportunity to deepen life in the Holy Spirit by becoming more attentive to God’s word in prayer. You can focusing on the Sunday readings and allowing them into your hearts. What would happen if you looked at the Bible as many times as you check for new messages, emails or postings on social media? God desires to speak unto your heart. Are you ready to listen?

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