“On Christmas Eve we always . . .”
Think about all of the ways you might have finished that sentence at various stages in your life.
Although I have always cherished traditions, I couldn’t help thinking recently about how many times I have had to “break with tradition” in every stage of my life.
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Following the feast that we celebrated this past week, I’d like you to consider the question, “What does the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary have to do with politics?” The answer: Quite a lot actually.
In the Gospel reading for our Assumption Mass (Luke 1:26-38), we see Mary towards the end, not understanding the vocation to which she is called. How could she understand it? She was called to be a virgin and she was called to be a mother. She was called to be ever-virgin and mother — who could understand that?
That is why an angel had to explain more about it, because it would take a super-human intelligence to tell out that mystery in human words. Mary said, “How can this be?” that is, basically, I’ve never been married and I’ve been a good girl. And the angel responded, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
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We had some very interesting readings this past Sunday, our Second Sunday of Advent. The first reading came from the prophet Baruch and my first point comes from the line in that passage “put on the splendor of Glory from God forever,” or “put on the splendor of the Glory of God forever.”
And we may ask, “How does one do that?” One does that at the Mass. We can’t do anything in this life forever. The only eternal behavior in which we can engage, in which we can get caught up, is liturgical behavior. And so through his prophet Baruch, God says to us, “put on the splendor of the Glory of God.”
Most people fear the process of dying, which involves radical dependency, a sense of powerlessness, and sometimes significant pain as well.
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Editor’s note: The following column was adapted from a homily given by Bishop Robert C. Morlino at his Stational Mass at St. Patrick Church in Madison on the first Sunday of Advent.
Dear Friends,
I want to begin by offering a special greeting to our good friends who have undertaken RCIA formation and soon will be received into full communion with the Church — some through Baptism and Confirmation and some through Confirmation and reception at the great Easter Vigil. Your journey is truly under way and I hope you have the sense of just how close you really are. You’re almost there! We welcome you into our family wholeheartedly and we want to walk with you through the rest of your beautiful journey to Easter, as so many have been walking with you faithfully in the days past.
Pope Benedict was very visible as we commenced our Advent Season. He celebrated Solemn Vespers on Saturday night to begin Advent and, of course, he gave his regular Sunday Morning Angelus Address. In this space, I thought I might give you some of my reflections on the three points which our Holy Father made.
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Dear Friends,
As I write this, I am freshly arrived back from the annual assembly of our National Bishops Conference, filled with hope indeed. On my way to Baltimore for the meeting, I had a stopover in Washington, during which time I had a good opportunity to visit with our seminarian who is a Basselin Scholar at the Catholic University of America, and some of the fellow seminarian friends whom he has met. The experience was totally upbeat and filled me with hope, both for the present and for the future.
Additionally, at meetings of the bishops conference, Tuesday night is usually the “free evening” for dinner and recreation for the bishops, though in many instances, bishops are very generously giving themselves, on Tuesday evenings, to the work of the various committees or sub-committees of our conference.
On November 7, Congress gave many observers a big surprise. On a vote of 240 to 194, the House of Representatives approved an amendment to maintain longstanding policies against federal abortion funding in proposed health care reform legislation.
It’s a privilege to get old; not everyone has the chance to experience life in their 80s. It’s a time when we can no longer hide our age with cosmetics and high style when there are other obvious signs of deterioration.
Whereas we once walked tall, carrying ourselves with grace, we are now shrunken and our backs are bent. The sure-footed stride has evolved into cautious baby steps. And the head held high now is bent to watch for possible ice or bumps on our path.
Thankfulness for many blessings over this past year already fills the minds and hearts of my family and, I imagine, yours, as well. In particular, thanking God for my cousins’ now one-year-old quadruplets. Yes, that’s right. We are all still amazed at this spontaneous gift from God to Michael, Angela, and little Delaney. Now they are seven. Like some other great stories it happened once upon a night.
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Editor’s note: The following column is adapted from Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s staff catechesis on November 11.
If you’ve paid attention to the news in recent weeks, you may have heard the name Anwar al Awlaki. He is the former imam (which is the Muslim term for pastor) of a mosque in Fairfax County, Virginia, whose services and sermons were attended by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood killer, and simultaneously, three of the 9-11 hijackers.
Awlaki, who now resides in Yemen, has articulated, as a pastor, a concept of conscience. This is one of our main words of interest as Catholics: “conscience.” Awlaki has said that Major Hasan, who killed 13 and wounded many others, is in very good conscience as a Muslim because it is good to prevent American service people from waging war in Islamic countries, however you do it. It is, Awlaki articulated, the Will of Allah, that faithful Muslims take such preventative measures against American or allied service people, because the good of the worldwide Islamic Caliphate requires it. The Caliphate, in general, refers to a huge Islamic State which is desired by many Islamic extremists.
