HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2011 Begins with two wonderful Solemnities: The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the Epiphany of the Lord! Both are feasts of amazing import as they continue to unwrap for us the great gift of Christmas-Jesus the Lord. First our attention is focused on The Blessed Virgin Mary. The fact of Jesus being the incarnate word of God means that Mary in giving birth to Jesus is the mother of God! She did not create God, but through her God came into the world as a human being! This feast is really about Jesus and what can happen when we cooperate with God's grace. We are to be like the Blessed Mother and allow ourselves both to receive God's life in us and to deliver HIM to everyone we meet! This year we are getting ready to implement the new translation of the Roman Missal. I've been sharing the current Eucharistic prayers with our Candidates for full communion with the Catholic Church. You may gain renewed faith and deeper insight this year by praying with the words of the Eucharistic prayers and then looking at the changes that will come next Advent.
The Epiphany celebrates Jesus as Lord and Savior of all peoples! The magi's arrival from the East reveals to us another dimension of the gift of Christmas! The ONE we worship is in fact the light of all nations! "Where is the newborn king of the the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." The magi announce the great Christmas message! It is as though we are not able to fully grasp the mystery of Jesus until it is presented to us from the vantage point of the world. "Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk in your light, and kings by your shining radiance...Then you shall be radiant at what you see, you heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of the nations shall be brought to you." Isaiah the prophet articulates the events that happen liturgically this weekend! "Your hearts shall throb and overflow." What an image! Does my heart throb and overflow at the Christmas message? Is our parish more fully aware than ever of the nearness of God?
The full cast is set before us this weekend: The Christ child, the parents of Jesus, King Herod and all of Jerusalem, the magi, St. Paul, the Gentiles, and our parish family. What is offered to us anew, is the chance to receive into our lives and our community, the greatest gift of all, "Jesus, the newborn King!"
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