One Last Column, Ever Grateful

For more than five years, I have been blessed to share my thoughts with you in this monthly column. When I first began writing, it took me a very long time to craft each reflection. I often wondered if anyone was reading them or if they would make any difference at all.

Dear Parishioners,

With today's feast of the Lord's Baptism we commemorate another "Epiphany" or manifestation of Jesus. This manifestation is not of the child Jesus lying in a manger but of the adult Christ who comes to the river Jordan to be baptized by John. Although Jesus is sinless and has no need of a ritual purification, he nonetheless steps into a river to demonstrate his solidarity with sinful humanity whom he has come to save. As he emerges from the waters of chaos Jesus is revealed as God's Beloved Son chosen to reveal God's love to the world.

Dear Parishioners,

On this great feast of the Lord's Epiphany we are blessed to be given a second blast of Christmas joy as we recall the exotic visitors - these Magi from the east who traveled by night in search of a newborn king. They are only mentioned in Matthew's gospel with very little information as to their whereabouts, their number and their ultimate purpose in searching for this king. In Christian imagination and artwork there are three Magi depicted, frequently portrayed as royal figures.

Dear Parishioners,

In his poem, "The Silent Seers," J. Barrie Shepherd reflects on the stable of Bethlehem and who, among those present there, really knew what's going on.

Of all the witnesses around the holy manger perhaps it was the animals saw best what lay ahead for they had paced the aching roads slept in the wet and hungry fields known the sharp sting of sticks and thorns and curses endured the constant bruise of burdens not their own the tendency of men to use and then discard rather than meet and pay the debt of gratitude. For them the future also held the knacker's rope, the flayer's blade the tearing of the bodies for the spring of a race. In the shadows of that stable might it be his warmest welcome lay within their quiet comprehending gaze?

Dear Parishioners,

About this time of year, many people including myself, can feel overwhelmed and frazzled by what I refer to as, "the dynamics of the holiday season." These include all sorts of details, great and small, that demand our attention to various degrees. We've almost come to expect this frazzled feeling as an inevitable feature that permeates the days leading up to Christmas. Many of us exclaim that it seems to be getting more intense each year and we wonder why that is.

Dear Parishioners,

Once again, we find ourselves immersed in, what many (including myself) describe as, "the most wonderful time of the year." I believe this description is justified given the level of joyful energy and hopeful activity in which so much of our culture is engaged. Though we may find ourselves emotionally drained and physically exhausted when this holiday season is over, I suspect most people are happily excited when it rolls around each year.

Dear Parishioners,

This week Americans will observe, as we traditionally do on the 4th Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day. The history of this observance is complex and not unanimously agreed upon. Most historians associate its origins with a three day harvest feast that was shared by the Plymouth Colonists and the native Wampanoag people in 1621. It was intended to be a celebratory meal after the Pilgrim's first successful harvest. The menu included fowl, fish, and corn along with venison that was provided by the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit. For over 200 years Thanksgiving Day was celebrated irregularly throughout the colonies until President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863.

Dear Parishioners,

Today (November 9) we commemorate the dedication of one of the most privileged church buildings of Christendom -- the church of St. John Lateran. This church is one of the four major basilicas in the city of Rome and has the distinction of being the pope’s cathedral. The other three basilicas are: St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls (in which the mortal remains of St. Paul the Apostle are entombed) and St. Peter in Vatican City (in which the mortal remains of St. Peter the Apostle are entombed). Although St. John Lateran is the official cathedral of the pope who is called “the bishop of Rome,” the most prominent liturgical celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church are celebrated at St. Peter’s in Vatican City.

Dear Parishioners,

At this time of year, in the Church’s liturgical cycle as well as the cycle of nature, we are invited to contemplate the mystery of death. While trees shed their leaves and the hours of night lengthen, the Church’s commemorations of All Saints, All Souls and the triumph of Christ the King, put before us the inevitable reality that life, as we know it now, will end. Throughout this journey of life, death is our unseen companion, and if we can learn to befriend, rather than fear it, when death finally comes in its fullness, we will be able to welcome it as a rebirth – a homecoming into heaven.