2015 Christmas letter from the Bishop
Bishop Loverde’s Christmas letter (Spanish) [spiderpowa-pdf src=”https://stmaryfred.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/12-25-Diocese-of-Arlington_ChristmasLetter2015spanish.pdf”]
From Our Pastor ~ 25 December 2015
Dear Good People of Saint Mary,
That night was, by all accounts a cold night and people were seeking shelter. Everyone is uprooted like you, making the arduous journey from Nazareth over rough terrain through unsafe lands to make your way back to the place of your ancestors. You must be counted in a census required by the occupying soldiers of the Roman Empire. You try to get just a little farther, though darkness and cold is falling, to get to Bethlehem. Arriving late, there is no place left to stay. You are frustrated because you want to protect and provide a safe night for your wife. You are wondering where this is going: is that a contraction that you just felt, here in the middle of nowhere? Is it time for this baby? Am I ready?
Arriving late, there is no place left to stay. You are frustrated because you want to protect and provide a safe night for your wife. You are wondering where this is going: is that a contraction that you just felt, here in the middle of nowhere? Is it time for this baby? Am I ready?
The air of the cave is damp and full of the smells of the nearby animals. Seems like an unlikely way for God’s plan to unfold, from our perspective today. There in that cave nobody knew exactly what was happening, only that it was miraculous. The light, the peace, the angels and shepherds. Something remarkable is underway.
He will gather together the nations from the two groups who encounter him: those who are looking for something (only God knows what) who daily risk the chance of not recognizing him even when he stands in front of them, and those who are not looking for him at all. At Jesus’ time there wasn’t a group of faithful who embraced his birth, nobody celebrated. Nobody knew it was happening, any more than they knew that the Incarnation of Jesus had already taken place nine months before when Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that the child would be great and holy, and would be given the throne of David, his father, a Kingdom with no end. “How can this be…?”
The story continues to unfold today. Jesus still comes into this same world where only he knows our potential for goodness and peace. He will come to those who don’t know him, he will come to those who are not looking for him at all. He will break into the noise of our world in silence, and he will bring about change. He will continue to touch souls, bring them back to God, and bring to his loving embrace all those who know nothing of him at all. He will bring peace.
Since we are a part of the story still unfolding, we have a role in this plan, a real, concrete role. Something is lost if you do not do something about it. The fact of this role does not depend on your doubts or even in how unlikely this seems, or how unworthy you might feel. Jesus chooses you Today, he becomes you, he begins the possibility of living Communion with you, and calling you to be the fullness of your created being as a person made in his image. He is love, he loves you.
Enter into this mystery of life and our being called together to act in his love. May this great Feast of love and mercy touch your hearts and make you like him, may our world together know his joy, and his peace.
God bless you, and merry Christmas!
Meditation on December 20, 2015 readings
Direct link to audio file: 2015-Dec-19_19-12-56
Reading 1
Mi 5:1-4a
Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Reading 2
Heb 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Gospel
Lk 1:39-45
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Express Announcements ~ 20 December 2015
* This weekend, our Parish Christmas Collection will support the Creche Orphanage in Bethlehem, Palestine; the Oblate Sisters’ mission school St. Joseph’s School in Gabis, Namibia; and our Fredericksburg Family Counseling Center of Catholic Charities. Thank you for your generosity!
* Vigil Masses, Christmas Eve: 4 and 6:30pm (Church and Holy Cross), 8:30pm (Church), Carols concert at 11pm leading up to Midnight Mass.
* Masses for Christmas: 12am, 7am, 8:30am, 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2pm, all in the Church.
* Please note that there will be no confessions on Saturday, December 26. The Parish Office will be closed on Thursday and Friday, December 24 and 25, and from
* Already it is only two weeks before we begin Bishop Barron’s 6-week series with Fr. Don on The Mystery of God: Who God Is and Why He Matters (please see p. 7) on January 5!! The Study Guide for the program costs $20. Fr. Don needs to know if you are coming for planning purposes. RSVP by 4:30pm on DECEMBER 31:call the office or email him frrooney@stmaryfred.org by and let us know you will join us.
We wish everyone a safe and joyful Christmas holiday – may this celebration fill us with a deep and abiding sense of the nearness of God with us, and bring healing and peace to our families and to our world. Merry Christmas!