The Christmas Season ends / Ordinary Time begins with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Ordinary (from Latin "ordinal" or counted) is the counted weeks of the Liturgical Year between the various seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. Our Baptism, like the Lord's, is a consecration to service. The bishops' pastoral letter on stewardship reminds us that "there is a fundamental obligation arising from the sacrament of baptism that people place their gifts, their resources - their selves - at God's service in and through the Church."
Fr. Dean, 1/13/19
Fr. Dean, 1/13/19
"What Child Is This?" is the song of Epiphany as we celebrate this feast on the first Sunday of 2019. Jesus is honored by the gifts of the magi which signal that he is a priestly (frankincense), prophetic (myrrh) and royal (gold) person. This is the second manifestation of who Jesus is. The Birth of Christ is the first manifestation as the angels and shepherds herald the newborn king. Next Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord which is the third manifestation of Jesus during the Christmas Season. Jesus is the beloved Son of God. Next week the Baptism of the Lord ends the Christmas Season and begins Ordinary Time, the counting of the weeks of the Liturgical Year.
Fr. Dean, 1/6/19
Fr. Dean, 1/6/19
The Christmas Season continues with the Feast of the Holy Family this weekend, the Solemnity of Mary as Mother of God, and Epiphany to the Baptism of the Lord. Some Churches celebrate the Christmas Season until February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.
Fr. Dean, 12/30/18
Fr. Dean, 12/30/18
The Fourth Sunday of Advent recalls the visitation of Mary to her kinswoman, Elizabeth. Mary set out in haste. I suspect we may be in haste to fulfill all the festivities of Christmas. May we not forget that God became incarnate and dwelt among us so that we might be raised up from our humanity to share in the Lord's divinity. The Fourth Week of Advent is very short as we begin the Season of Christmas with the Masses at 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in each of our parishes.
Fr. Dean, 12/23/18
Fr. Dean, 12/23/18
Third Sunday of Advent. God comes. What shall we do? God, indeed, is coming. Near at hand. At the door. Be busy! Be lovingly-kind, like God. Do mercy work. Being merciful does not require extraordinary behavior. It simply means, be human. That is, be holy. Prove that God is here by wrestling with conversion to Christ in ongoing ways - be genuine, be just, be fair. The gospel offers some suggestions: clean out the closet, share from the pantry, do not take what others need. Do mercy. Be mercy.
Fr. Dean, 12/16/18
Fr. Dean, 12/16/18
John the Baptist proclaims a Baptism of Repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the Gospel on this Second Sunday of Advent. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." Allow the grace of God to have a clear entry into your heart and soul by ridding yourself of sin. The Sacrament of Penance was given by Jesus when he announced forgiveness to the disciples in the upper room following His resurrection. "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven. Whose sins you shall retain, are retained."
The Priests of the Church have been empowered by Jesus to administer God's merciful love in the Sacrament of Penance / the Rite of Reconciliation.
Fr. Dean, 12/9/18
The Priests of the Church have been empowered by Jesus to administer God's merciful love in the Sacrament of Penance / the Rite of Reconciliation.
Fr. Dean, 12/9/18
The Church begins a new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent. We move into the Season of Advent, preparing and waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ in all his glory. The Gospel of Luke takes center stage as we begin the 3rd or "C" cycle of readings for Sundays and Year 1 of the 2-year cycle of weekday readings.
Jeremiah prophesizes, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah." May we respond: "To your, O Lord, I lift up my soul!"
We begin the New Liturgical Year with the Advent Wreath of four candles representing the four corners of the earth and the four weeks of the Advent Season. The first half of the Advent Season is our longing for the return of our Savior, but as a deceased priest friend would often say, "Come, Lord Jesus, but just not yet!" The third candle, generally rose/pink colored, marks our joy that we are in the second half of Advent and prepare especially for the celebration of Christ's first coming, the event of Christmas. Some wreaths have a fifth candle, a white candle in the center of the wreath to mark the birth of Christ and his coming again in glory.
Fr. Dean, 12/2/18
Jeremiah prophesizes, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah." May we respond: "To your, O Lord, I lift up my soul!"
We begin the New Liturgical Year with the Advent Wreath of four candles representing the four corners of the earth and the four weeks of the Advent Season. The first half of the Advent Season is our longing for the return of our Savior, but as a deceased priest friend would often say, "Come, Lord Jesus, but just not yet!" The third candle, generally rose/pink colored, marks our joy that we are in the second half of Advent and prepare especially for the celebration of Christ's first coming, the event of Christmas. Some wreaths have a fifth candle, a white candle in the center of the wreath to mark the birth of Christ and his coming again in glory.
Fr. Dean, 12/2/18