Christmas

Tonight we will gather with believers all around the world to celebrate the great feast of the Incarnation of Christ when He comes to us as a tiny child. We see Him Who is the Son of God, the Divine Word made flesh before our eyes and we again fall on our knees in homage to the God Who is Love.

As St. Augustine says: "Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the One who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make His only Son become the Son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God? Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace."

Lift Up Your Eyes and See

The Lord says through the prophet Isaiah:

"To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. "Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name: because He is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing." (Is 40:25-26)

When I was reflecting on this passage, I realized that the Lord is referring to the stars which He knows by name despite their immense numbers. They are called a host as though they were an army arrayed for battle, attentive to the Lord's call and immediately responsive. The very thought of this makes me tremble, overwhelmed by the immensity of what is laid out before my eyes. The word "awesome", although appropriate, cannot completely explain what I feel inside when I think about the loving plan God has for His creation, including me and how He is intimately involved with all that He has made.

The image I chose for this post is of Kemble's Cascade, named for Fr. Lucien Kemble, OFM, who introduced me to stargazing accompanied by the music of Mozart played in the cold and dark night lit by a multitude of stars. He was always interested in how things worked, and found sheer joy in observing the intricacies of God's creation. He would have understood well my response to the prophecy of Isaiah.

Immaculate Conception--Our Lady's Feastday

Today we have celebrated the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which is an important feast for our Franciscan family as well as the school where I teach, dedicated as it is to her Immaculate Conception. We Sisters have been praying a novena of Memorares in preparation for this day, and our Lady has blessed us with her gracious kindness. We had a wonderful day at school also! The students were very attentive at the Holy Mass and all of our St. Mary's Day activities left the teachers speaking about how talented and well-behaved our students are and what a great celebration this day has been.

This has to be attributed to Mary's concern for us. Jesus gave her to us as our Mother while He hung upon the Cross for us. Because of this we can rely on her maternal intercession for us and we can ask her to extend her mantle of care over us. I am particularly happy to see our young students drawing close to her through prayer and honouring her by their actions in school.

The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Waiting in Hope--the Invitation of Advent

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, wrote an encyclical letter in 2007 exhorting us to live in hope in God. He begins by telling us that our faith in the redemption offered us in Christ Jesus is the basis of our hope:
Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html

I am particularly encouraged by his term "trustworthy hope". It is not some false hope, or empty hope, or missplaced hope, but true hope. We begin our Advent journey, waiting in hope for the One Who is our salvation, our redemption, the Christ Who in His incarnation takes on our human flesh with its weaknesses and needs, and leads us to our goal, union with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

There is essential waiting as part of this journey: waiting to know the specific will of God for our lives, waiting for the seeds of faith planted in us to grow to fruition, waiting for the virtues we practice to have an effect in our lives, waiting for the answer to our heartfelt prayers. Most of all we wait to know more fully the One Who loves us so much that He became one of us and dwelt among us, leading us who were lost and confused back to the only relationship that truly fulfills us, our relationship with God. Our hope lies in the trustworthiness of the God in Whom we hope.

The Call of Jeremiah 1:4-10

This morning I was speaking to a group of 8-12 year-olds at our parish about listening to the call of God in their lives and what it has meant in my life to listen to that call and follow where the Lord has led me into Religious Life as a Franciscan Sister. I have always been struck by how Jeremiah protested to the Lord that he was too young to receive such a call as he did to be the Lord's prophet, and yet how the Lord has assured him that he was not too young.

The seminarian at our parish spoke about how he had first heard the call to priesthood when he was eight years old, and when he was twelve, he was certain that he would be a priest. His path to the priesthood has been circuitous even so and now in his early 30's he is almost on the doorstep of ordination to the diaconate. Even his young certainty did not prevent him from experiencing desires to be something else in this life and only with the grace of God has he come around to where he started.

The tune of the song "Little Church" from the movie "Brother Sun Sister Moon" came into my mind while doing the ironing this afternoon and it seems to me to be something important to consider. This song speaks of how St. Francis of Assisi started his reoriented-to-God life as a rebuilder of broken-down churches. It takes time to discern what exactly the Lord is saying to us in regards to our life work. It helps to take little steps and go slowly, listening attentively all along the way, trusting that the One Who loves us will in His own good way show us what is His will for us and the true happiness of our heart.

I find this to be very reassuring as I seek to follow the Lord's inspirations in my life, knowing that I can take the time He gives me to discern what He exactly wants for me to do in His service and the futherance of His Kingdom.

Queen of the Holy Rosary

Today is the feast of Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary. I invited my students to pray the Rosary today and they were quite enthusiastic about it. That brought joy to my heart.

In this post, to honour our Mother Mary, I have inserted St. Francis' salutation of the Blessed Virgin. Many people know of St. Francis for his love of God's creation, yet are not aware of his great love of Mary. This prayer shows the warmth of his love as he extols her using images from the liturgy.

Hail, holy Lady, most holy Queen, Mary, Mother of God, ever Virgin; chosen by the most holy Father in heaven, consecrated by Him, with His most holy beloved Son and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. On you descended and in you still remains all the fullness of grace and every good. Hail, His palace. Hail, His tabernacle. Hail, His robe. Hail, His handmaid. Hail, His Mother. and Hail, all holy virtues, who, by the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are poured into the hearts of the faithful so that, faithless no longer, they may be made faithful servants of God through you. (Omnibus of Sources 135-136)

St. Francis' Letter to All the Faithful

In the Office of Readings for the Solemnity of St. Francis, there is an excerpt from his letter to all the faithful. When I read these words, I am filled with such joy in being called to follow the Lord Jesus in the footsteps of St. Francis, His faithful servant and truly a living image of the Gospel.

St. Francis says of himself: Since I am the servant of all I am obliged to serve all and to carry out the fragrant words of my Lord, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word of the Father. I must also bring to your attention the words of the Holy Spirit which are spirit and life...

He wants us all to be saved through Him and to receive Him with pure heart and sinless body. How happy and blessed are they who love the Lord and do what He says in the Gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbour as yourself. Let us therefore love God and adore Him with pure heart and soul since He says that He is especially seeking authentic worshippers who will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Let us sing His praises and pray day and night because we must pray always without losing heart....

Let all firmly believe that no one can be saved except through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord's holy words which clerics proclaim and administer. Religious, however, who have renounced the world are obliged to do more and greater things while not neglecting these.

St. Francis tells us that our Lord is looking for disciples even today as He did long ago along the shores of Galilee. It is through discipleship of Jesus that we experience the fullness of life, nourished by His holy Word and by the Eucharist which is His very Body and Blood offered to us through the hands of the priest. Let us run to Him, drawn by the fragrance that attracted St. Francis to give up everything for love of Him Who gave the fullness of everything to St. Francis and Who offers us the same gift.

At this link is the full text of the letter in another translation.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/wosf/wosf12.htm