         
Pastor's Desk Archive             
2007 Pastor's Desk Arch.            
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Pastor's Desk Archive (December 2007)What's At Stake In Failing to Make Christ The Reason For The Season? (12/02/2007) What's At Stake In Failing to Make Christ The Reason For The Season? (12/02/2007)When I was growing up in the forties and fifties, Christmas was already commercialized and Santa was already well on the way to knocking Christ off His throne. There were some huge differences, though, between now and then. In those days, we were still saying prayers and singing Christmas carols in public school assemblies. Most Catholics, at least, didn’t even buy a Christmas tree (in the days before plastic ones) until the week before and didn’t decorate it or hang their outdoor lights until a day or two before. In my house, the tree was decorated on Christmas Eve. Despite the focus on Santa and on shopping, we knew that the 12 Days of Christmas didn’t begin until Dec. 24th. I can also tell you that people didn’t spend a small fortune on Christmas presents. We always had lots of packages beneath the tree, but their retail value reflected what we could really afford. These were also the days before that other kind of plastic—credit cards. The Christmas decorations—tree and all—were proudly displayed at least through the feast of Little Christmas on January 6th. There were nativity scenes not only in front of every church, but in all the stores and public squares. Groups of children and adults went about from house to house during those Twelve Days singing carols to their neighbors. One more thing: while the secular Christmas tunes like White Christmas and Here comes Santa Claus were among the songs most often heard, all the stores and all the radio stations also made wide use of Christian carols. I grew up with Jewish friends who never took the slightest offense and were among those wishing us Merry Christmas. That was then, this is now. Gone are the nativity scenes from the public squares. Gone, too, are the prayers and the singing of carols from public schools. Trees and other “seasonal” decorations go up on the day after Thanksgiving and are gone by the 27th or so of December. Since many fewer people attend church regularly than they did in the old days, there are huge numbers of people for whom Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph are the prevailing symbols of Christmas. People feel compelled to spend small fortunes on gifts for children and grandchildren who already have nearly everything. So what’s at stake is the loss of the culture’s ability to transmit the all important message of Christ’s birth. Is there anything we can do to stop this erosion? Certainly, there is. We can make sure we put Santa and gift-giving in their proper perspective. We can talk to children about St. Nicholas and we can be very clear about the only valid reason for giving Christmas gifts: they are a sign of our love for one another and of our appreciation for the greatest gift of all—God’s gift to us of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. We can tell them the greatest story ever told in every way we know how. And we can raise them, as best we can, to be faithful followers of Christ who was born at Bethlehem (the house of bread) to become for us The Bread of Life. The Forgiveness of Sins (12/9/2007)There appears to be a lot of confusion among Catholics about how we experience the forgiveness of sins. Many of them, for instance, don’t believe that they should ever have to confess their sins to a priest. These individuals are convinced that all they need to do is to tell God in their private prayers that they are sorry and that they just move on from there as if it’s no big deal. But we know that when we are offended by the sin of another person, it can be quite a big deal. Even if that person says he is sorry, we may doubt their motives and wonder if they have any intention of refraining from this sin in the future. We may find ourselves bearing a grudge against that person even after telling them to forget it. And how likely are we to forgive such a person if all he does is tell God in his private prayers that he is sorry? Part of the confusion has to do with our understanding of what sin really is. In the scriptures, the word for sin means missing the mark. It’s like throwing a dart at the target and either missing it a little or completely. Venial Sin is like missing it by a little. Mortal Sin is like missing the mark completely. Although as creatures we are imperfect and often fall short of the mark, we know that life goes better for us and for those we love when we are at least trying to be and do our best. Don’t we encourage children to do their best even though we know they’ll never be perfect? Well, God wants us to do our best even though He knows we will always be imperfect in one way or another. But the scriptures tell us that whenever we come before God with humble and contrite hearts that He is always ready to give us His pardon and his peace. In this sense, it would be a very good practice to examine our consciences every day so that we can seek God’s mercy on a regular basis. But what about our more serious sins and offenses? Is it really just a matter of saying a little prayer and hoping for God’s mercy? What about serious sins which have become habitual? Do we just go on committing those sins and pretending that everything is alright? These sins not only involve a rupture of our relationship with God, but with ourselves and other human beings as well. The Sacrament of Penance is not just about obtaining God’s Mercy, it’s about being reconciled to the Church (other human beings), and to ourselves. It’s about obtaining the power of God to amend our lives by turning away from serious sin. But what if we have no serious sins? The Sacrament of Penance is an effective remedy also for those less serious sins which nonetheless can rob us and others of peace and serenity. Shall we just keep on sinning? Taking Things For Granted (12/16/2007)Lights & Heat & Telephones I got a call early on Monday morning advising me that all the power was off in the church and the offices. I had been afraid that was going to happen but since there was nothing I could do about it, I thanked God that the rectory power was still on and rolled over for a longer snooze. Not long thereafter I was awakened by the sounds of chiming power supplies letting me know I was also now powerless. As I began to move around, I remembered that all the bathrooms in the rectory are windowless. While you can do a lot of things in a dimly lit bathroom, combing your hair poses a challenge. I quickly found a mirror where there was a little more light. Have you ever noticed that your appearance improves in dim light? Let’s see…there’s no radio or tv, no phones and no computer and barely enough light to read by. I remembered not to open the fridge or freezer doors so they could remain cold as long as possible. After a while I noticed that my cat was as disoriented as I was. She was moping around giving off clear signs that she knew something was big time wrong. Then it dawned on me that I might better find a place to stay in case the power didn’t return. Luckily, I got a tip on the Postal Training Center in Norman. Turns out they have a 1,000 room hotel operated by Marriott with plenty of rooms because it was a slow training week for them. I saw a number of other Catholic families that I know from Norman parishes who were also in luck. They usually don’t allow children and pets, but they were making exceptions as the extent of the power outage became apparent. They had many of the comforts of home there plus a fitness center and food service. Just hoping that things would return to normal sometime Tuesday, I headed back to Moore in time for the 9am Mass. No power, no heat, no nothing. I could only pray that all of you who were powerless were making out as best you could. St. Andrew’s, however, would apparently not be in a position to provide shelter. Then I began to survey the damage from the ice and noticed how many trees and plants had been damaged or destroyed. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. I got back to the house to discover that the power was on there and that the stuff in the freezer and fridge had stayed cold enough not to spoil. Thanks be to God. After many calls to OG&E, the power was still out in the church on Wednesday so that there was no work, no service, no classes. On Thursday morning I decided to call the City Manager. He said he had direct contact with the OG&E folks in the field and would alert them. A few hours later the power was restored to the church. I guess we won’t soon forget the Great Ice Storm of 2007. A Christmas Letter From Father Jack (12/23/2007)Dear Friends in Christ, Although Christmas has been on our minds for many weeks, the time is now at hand to celebrate the birthday of our Savior. Once again all of us, especially parents with young children, can kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and look upon blessed manger scene. Behold the Promised One of God whom Isaiah spoke of as "Wonder-Counselor", "God-Hero", "Father-Forever", and "Prince of Peace." Oh, come let us adore Him. This is the day on which we are invited to renew our faith in Christ who is the very image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. He is the Word who was with God from the very beginning and by whom all things in heaven and on earth—visible and invisible—were created. As the Son of Mary, He is like us in all things but sin. As the Son of the Eternal Father, He is "light from light, true God from true God". He is the one who was born to suffer and die for us on a cross so that we who believe in Him can receive the forgiveness for our sins. Can we ever be grateful enough for God’s most marvelous gift? In light of who Christ really is, we must surely be disturbed that His birthday has come to be so strongly identified with fabled characters like Santa Claus and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Isn’t it curious that among all the presents that will be opened on His birthday, none of them are for Him? I’m reminded of a question that Jesus asked of his disciples: "When the Son of Man returns in glory will he find any faith upon the earth?" The purpose of my questions is not to stir up guilt, but to motivate you to join me in continuing to seek ways to reclaim the true meaning of this feast. I encourage you to think of ways to extend Christmas throughout all of its Twelve Days. You can at least leave the tree and all the lights in place even if all your neighbors think Christmas is over. Consider coming to the parish Christmas party on January 6th. You can be certain of a good meal and a good time in the presence of fellow parishioners who know the reason for the season. I know many of you will be coming on Christmas with family members who are home for the holidays and I’m looking forward to meeting them. Their presence will be a blessing both for you and for the parish. Sometimes we are tempted to question the motives of the folks who only come to church at Christmas and Easter, but we really shouldn’t. The heart has its reasons and we should rejoice whenever people choose to join us in giving thanks to God. For some of them, this may well be the Christmas that they started back to church for good. May that be our heartfelt prayer. At all the Masses on Christmas, know that I will be asking the Prince of Peace to bless you and yours with His presence throughout the New Year to come. May Christ be in your minds, in your speech, and in your hearts that many may come to know Him and believe in Him through you. Merry Christmas, The Twelve Days of Christmas (12/30/2007)"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith in a time of persecution. In short, it was a coded-message, a memory aid. Since the song sounded like rhyming nonsense, young Catholics could sing the song without fear of imprisonment. The authorities would not know that it was a religious song. 1st Day: The "partridge in a pear tree" is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them. The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross. 2nd Day: The "two turtle doves" refers to the Old and New Testaments. 3rd Day: The "three French hens" stand for faith, hope and love—the three gifts of the Spirit that abide (1 Corinthians 13). 4th Day: The "four calling birds" refers to the four evangelists who wrote the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ. 5th Day: The "five golden rings" represents the first five books of the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 6th Day: The "six geese a-laying" is the six days of creation. 7th Day: The "seven swans a-swimming" refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. 8th Day: The "eight maids a milking " reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount. 9th Day: The "nine ladies dancing" were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. 10th Day: The "ten lords-a-leaping" represents the Ten Commandments 11th Day: The "eleven pipers piping" refers to the eleven faithful apostles. 12th Day: The ‘twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles’ Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. |
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