From Our Pastor

From Our Pastor

Dear Folks,

You may have noticed that the baby Jesus is still out in front of the altar, the manger scene is still to the left of the pulpit, and we have switched to ordinary time. You will also notice that the magi are headed back home (walking towards the choir because the scriptures tell us that they went home ‘by another way’). Also, the shepherds are headed away form the creche and headed back to their fields. I asked that it be done this way because I think it provides a striking meditation on the transition back to ordinary time from the excitement of the Christmas season. The parties are over, everybody is on their way home, back to the ordinary routine of daily life, leaving Jesus, Mary and Joseph alone wit the barnyard animals. Isn’t that what happens in our lives? Once the dust settles, we have to be able to absorb the blessings we have received and apply them to our everyday routines.

I must also admit to seeing a parallel here with serious life issues and the upcoming March for Life. Have we ‘moved on’ from the March because of
the Dobbs decision? Is it already settled? What is happening is an increasingly local fight for increased respect for and protection of Life. We are a Pro-Life people, and now we have many more fronts where the battle is being waged and where we must stand in witness to the sacred value of life. This Friday the National March for Life takes place, and our Virginia Defending Life Day and March for Life are on Wednesday, February, 1st. St. Mary’s is providing bus transportation for both as both need our persevering support, witness, and prayers.

Also, when we all return to our ordinary routines we can forget the hardships that are afflicting others. One reflection on the nativity was that after giving birth in the stable, Mary and Jesus may have had to stay there for 40 days! The ritual laws for Jewish purification would have mandated that she be isolated from other people during those 40 days of purification (which also corresponds to the traditional 40 days of the Christmas season ending on February 2nd). Some years, I have tried to keep up Christmas decorations until February 2nd, but it always ends up feeling like we ‘moved on’ and want the decorations down!

pax,

Fr. Mosimann

January 15, 2023
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