The Day After Christmas, Then vs Now

In this day and age, December 26th is a bit of a letdown for most people.  

The presents, the feasts, the music ... all of it has been replaced with a dose of reality.  Some call it a Christmas Hangover, others the Christmas Slump.  

But I wonder what the day after Christ's birth was like for those in Bethlehem.  Sure, Mary and Joseph had to deal with a newborn - which was life-changing in its own right. 

(We interrupt this blog post for a tangent.  Did you ever think about life for the Holy Family those first few days?  How long was it until they found a better living situation?  How many visitors did they have the day after?  What were people in Bethlehem saying?  How many residents of the city even knew what happened?  What did Mary and Joseph talk about?  Did Joseph find any relatives?  How often did the baby Jesus cry?) 

In any case, I'm guessing there was no hangover for them at all.  Or the shepherds.  Or any of those that witnessed the Miracle in their midst.  

I bet they felt hope.  Yes, it might have been coupled with some wonder and questions.  But I bet it was quite different than what society feels today.

The reason is obvious, of course.

Their Christmas was truly focused on Our Savior.  

Today's Christmas seems to be focused on anything but.

I hope you and your families are having a blessed Christmas season.  God Bless you.

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!

May God Bless you and your families

Why We Don't Applaud at Mass

This weekend, our Pastor took a few moments to teach the confirmation candidates a few things about the Mass.

I enjoy these lectures, mainly because I can learn all the stuff I should already know under the guise of it being "for the children."

In any case, one of the kids asked him why we don't applaud at Mass.  Like after the choir sings, or a reader is finished.  (Or, as our Pastor added, "when the homily is over".)

His answer was quite simple.  Those "performances" are not for us.  We tend to forget that everything we do at Mass is to worship God.  He is the audience.  

And as our Pastor remarked ... "If God wants to applaud, He is more than welcome to!"

I'm really glad he reminds us the children of things like that because we they tend to forget.

God Bless you (and praying that God applauds our performances this week!).

A Week of Mary

It's funny how God works.  

Mary was everywhere I turned this week leading up to the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception.

Last week there was a 30 page booklet at our church about Fatima.  I picked it up, read it cover to cover, and was enlightened and inspired by the words of Our Lady of Fatima.  

I had one of those TV music channels on while I read the booklet - set to classic Christmas music - and Ave Maria came on.  Ave Maria is one of my favorite songs, and I have never heard it come on during that, or any other, Christmas playlist. 

Then, during the week, I was at a study group where we watched Fr. Robert Barron's video on ... who else?  Mary.  

During that video, he touched on many things related to our Blessed Mother.  One of the more difficult topics he covered was around the many apparitions associated with her.  He explained the reasons some are accepted by the Church, and others are not.  Our class spent a good deal of time focused on one of the criteria - whether people's lives were changed with increased devotion or spiritual benefit.  

During that discussion I developed a new appreciation for Our Lady of Guadalupe.  (For those that are not familiar with this event, you can read more here.)  I never realized the impact that she had on the world.  Millions of Aztecs converted to Catholicism in a very short period of time - so much so that Mexico very quickly became a Catholic nation.  Today, 82% of the country is still Catholic, and its 92+ million Catholics rank only behind Brazil.  

Finally, I watched a movie on EWTN called Mary of Nazareth.  While many scenes in the movie were not directly from the Gospels, they certainly made me think about all the interactions between Mary and Jesus that were never recorded - and the love and pain that went along with that.  

In any case, I hope you are as inspired on this Feast Day as I am.  And I pray that Our Mother continues to intercede for us.

God Bless you.

What the Servant with Two Talents Shows Us

Jesus gives us many lessons through the Parable of Talents.

He teaches us about servitude, expectations, judgement and hard work.  

But it dawned on me this weekend that we normally spend most of our reflections thinking about the superstar servant that delivered 10 talents back to his master, and the poor sap that only returned the one he was given.  

We never talk about the middle servant.

But he teaches us an important lesson about God.  

The middle servant only delivers his master 2 talents, versus 5 for his counterpart.  On a value basis, that is much less. 

But on a percentage basis it is exactly the same 100% return!  And if you notice, the master gives the exact same praise to him as he does the servant that returns 5 talents.   

The master did not give them all the same amount of talents (money) just as God does not give us all the same amount of talent (ability, skills, strengths, etc).  

But just like the master in the parable, God does not expect us to return the same total value to Him.  He does, however, expect us to deliver the most that we can based on what we were given.  

As a society, however, we tend to gauge how we are doing by comparing ourselves to others.  Are we going to church more than others?  Do we do more volunteer work than others?  Have we given as much as others?

But the middle servant reminds us that we should instead be determining if we are giving God a 100% return on what He has given us.

God Bless you.

Indifference

I've mentioned on this blog before that I believe one of the greatest threats to our faith is not other religions.  It is not naysayers. 

It is indifference.

Indifference is one of the saddest things I see happening around us today.  There is no passion for our Lord.  No fervent belief and evangelization.  No prioritization of God's will over our own.

The world is simply going about on its own earthly way.

Take, for example, this very sad article I came across the other day.

It was entitled Atheist scientist claims religion will be gone in a generation.


The article quotes a scientist who said "Change is always a generation away.  So if we can plant the seeds of doubt in our children, religion will go away in our generation... And that is what I think we have an obligation to do."

I must admit, I cringed when I read the word "obligation".  What a horrible thought.  But that was not the part that scared me, especially after the article mentions that countries have tried in the past to eradicate religion ... only to watch it come back stronger. 

The part that scared me most was the statistic that 25 years ago, only 5 percent of the U.S. population identified themselves as non-religious.  Today, that number is up to 20 percent.  However, if you isolate people between the ages of 18-25, that number jumps to 30 percent.

Thirty percent. 

That number isn't because someone mandated an end to religion. It is not because someone felt an obligation.

In my opinion, it is because society is becoming indifferent.

And not enough people are trying to change that.

God Bless you, and please pray for the conversion of many.

Instead of Reading A Post From Me...

... please consider taking the next 2 minutes and join me in saying a Decade of the Rosary for those souls who have no one to pray for them.

Thank you and God Bless.