Meditation on December 6, 2015 readings

Meditation on December 6, 2015 readings

Direct link to audio file: 2015-Dec-06_17-12-36

Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 6

Reading 1
Bar 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;
put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
you will be named by God forever
the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.

Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading 2
Phil 1:4-6, 8-11

Brothers and sisters:
I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel
Lk 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Express Announcement ~ December 6, 2015

Express Announcement ~ December 6, 2015

 

 

 

 

* The second collection this weekend is for the Parish Building Fund.

* Celebrate our Parish Feast Day and Holy Day of Obligation: Immaculate Conception, December 8. Vigil Masses at 6pm and 7:30pm on Monday evening and Masses throughout day on Tuesday, December 8 at 6:30am, 9am, Noon, 6pm and 7:30pm.

* Today is the CCW Mini Bazaar, up until 2pm in the Parish Life Center

* There will be no Religious Education Classes on December 7–10 in observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Classes will resume on Wednesday, December 9 as regularly scheduled.

* Advent Lessons and Carols, our annual Advent prayer service, is on Friday, December 11 at 7:30pm. Saint Mary Choirs present Advent songs along with scriptures and hymns for all to sing.

* Handcrafts from the Holy Land will be on sale after all Masses December 12 and 13. A perfect Christmas gift from Bethlehem will complete your shopping list for Christmas giving and help people in great need in the land where Jesus was born.

* Complete some of your holiday shopping by purchasing SCRIP gift cards! Set up an account today and earn rebates for HCA. Email Torie Baldwin at  scripcoordinator@holycrossweb.com for the school enrollment code.

* Subscribe to the Saint Mary website, www.stmaryfred.org and receive important updates via email. The subscription box is on the homepage. Enter your email address, click “subscribe.”

 

From Our Pastor ~ December 6, 2015

From Our Pastor ~ December 6, 2015

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Before I get started I just want to tell all of you how edified I am by your generosity, your visible kindness to one another and the way you go out of your way to do good for others during this season of preparation. Every moment, your kindnesses are giving glory to God as you donate food, wrap giving tree gifts, drop off blankets and coats. There sure is a lot of need in the world today; there are also your many generous hearts who give in ways that may never be accounted for. Thank you.

As Bugs Bunny used to say, “Tempus fugits.” We find ourselves going forward ever faster into the year. 18 weeks until Easter. I invite all of you to take this special time particularly and treat it like you might a course. Most courses run about 23 classes during the Church year: count each Sunday as an installment as we live again the unfolding of God’s mercy and love in the story of his revelation, the incarnation of his Word, Jesus, his gracious love in giving over the mission of Jesus to his Church, ultimately his institution of Eucharist, passion, death, and resurrection. Do your homework each week and read the next Sunday’s reading thoughtfully and prayerfully. If you can, join a small group to gather and share the reflection of the next Sunday’s Scriptures. Imagine yourself actively involved in the scene, as if listening to the words for the first time.
Ask yourself two questions:

1. Where does this Word have a particular message for me at this time in my life?
2. In what ways is God inviting me to draw closer to him in my life today?

Ultimately it is a matter of attention, I believe. As long as we are paying attention, the time will not fly quickly past in vain leaving us unchanged.

To help chart the days as they pass, you will be receiving our annual Parish Calendar in the mail soon, our gift to you. Please put it in a handy place, and keep track of all the feasts, celebrations and parish events in the upcoming year.

Of course, this coming year 2016 is the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy as proclaimed by Pope Francis, a time that we will concentrate on the depths of the love and mercy of God. Bishop Loverde’s letter about it is in today’s bulletin.

As with most of Pope Francis’ writings, this proclamation is based on a simple foundation of relationship. For mercy to matter, there must be one who is merciful, and there must be one who needs it. People who need mercy are aware of some wrong they have done that needs to be set right, it is never a need taken lightly because it is something we can’t do for themselves. For one who is truly merciful, he or she must be freely able to choose to give it, or not. It is a tension between one’s large-heartedness and another’s heartfelt remorse and helplessness. It is a sacred exchange. There is also an interdependence in the relationship: a truly merciful person must have persons who can receive their mercy in  order to know his or her own fulfillment, as well as the need for the seeker of mercy to be forgiven, delivered, redeemed.

What makes this most beautiful in the relationship between God and us is that God has no need of fulfillment in this way, yet he still freely chooses to pour out his mercy upon us.

The parable of the prodigal son in the Bible might better be described as the parable of the prodigal Father.

The result of this relationship is pure joy. Pope Francis sees this as one of the greatest needs in our world today—not only mercy, but the utter joy that is the product of its work. Real, authentic, abiding and unshakable joy. It is what lies at the heart of the Good News, a kind of news that the world is waiting to hear. We proclaim it by our actions, becoming people of mercy, as our heavenly Father is merciful. Having received it ourselves, we know how to share the gift of joy.

The Vatican has put together a really great website for the Jubilee of Mercy, check it out. Here is the prayer by Pope Francis for the Jubilee.

God bless you,

Fr. Don

Meditation on November 29, 2015 readings

Meditation on November 29, 2015 readings

Direct link to audio file: 2015-Nov-29_08-41-06

First Sunday of Advent
Reading 1
Jer 33:14-16

The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
“The LORD our justice.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Reading 2
1 Thes 3:12—4:2

Brothers and sisters:
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.

Finally, brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God
and as you are conducting yourselves
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Gospel
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man.”