I haven’t done much in the way of posting since early in Advent’ it seems I’ve had very little to say of any notable worth.
Fr. Don, at our parish, offered a good joke during at the start of the Christmas Eve Mass that I’ve been meaning to share.
The parish only offered two or three masses on Christmas weekend, two were on Saturday, one in the sanctuary and one in the school gym, both at 4:00 PM.
The sound system in the school gym wasn’t the greatest, but the crowds were huge and there was no place left to sit but there.
At the start of the Mass, Fr Don commented that the sound was somewhat better than expected, and also commented on the changes in the Mass translation, for those who hadn’t been to Mass since Easter.
He said he welcomed the changes for many reasons.
One was he hoped to avoid the situation of a priest friend of his who was offering Mass in a similar setting to our own.
This priest was standing at the microphone, trying to get it to work and said to one of the nearby technicians, “There’s something wrong with the mike.”
To which the congregation immediately responded, “And also with you.”
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I noted that several bloggers I follow posted on plans for their blog for the coming year.
I’ve hesitated to do the same.
It seems everytime I announce some future plan for Colorado Musing, I’ve failed to follow through, so I’ll just say I have two or three new things planned during the year and see if you spot them when, and if, they appear.
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I read a meditation in an inspirational magazine, written by a modern author and was disappointed.
I wonder sometimes if we have nothing to say, even on things so important to us as the Christmas season or the Epiphany.
Is simply stringing seasonal words together and hope they inspire someone the best that can be done?
It would be better, then, not to write anything at all and turn to the saints who have gone before us who did have something to say.
Why waste the ink on paper?
The Epiphany, which we celebrated this weekend, is an odd thing though. We celebrate the revelation of the Incarnation to the world. Yet, it was a quite limited revelation. It involved, at best, only a few shepherds, perhaps the city of Jerusalem, and three kings from who knows where. There is little Scriptural evidence that it spread any further until Jesus disappeared, only to show up three days later in the temple, and then it was hidden again until Jesus began his public ministry, perhaps10 years after that. You would think that if God were to truly reveal himself, it would be an earth shaking event, yet nothing much seems to have happened.
I’m reminded of one of Gibbs’ Rules, “The best way to keep a secret is to tell no one, the second best way is to share it with one other person, there is no third best way.” God told a few persons, He chose the third best way, and it was enough. Like so much that He does, it’s enough, no more was needed. That is perhaps the best lesson we could have to begin this year with, remember that God will do enough to share His Truth with us. We may have to look for it, but it’s there.
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Image via WikipediaA man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them, or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.
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Image via WikipediaIf a man departs this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and prepares the soul for the kingdom of God, where nothing defiled may enter. For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious stones (I Cor., 3); but also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones? Neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood, and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works. (Patres Groeci. XIII, col. 445, 448 [A.D. 185-232]). Abercius
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