1/1/2017 - la solemnidad de María, Madre de Dios - Lucas 2: 16-21

      Hoy celebramos el fin del año 2016 y el comienzo del Año Nuevo. En el primer día del Año Nuevo, celebramos siempre la solemnidad de la Santísima Virgen María, la Madre de Dios - María, como el Theotokos, la portadora de Dios por quien Jesús vino al mundo.  En Lumen Gentium, la Constitución dogmática del la Iglesia del Concilio Vaticano Segundo, se declaró que Dios no empleó a María de manera

pasiva, sino que ella cooperó libremente en la obra de salvación humana a través de su fe y su obediencia. Las palabras de San Ireneo dice eso en Lumen Gentium sobre María: "Siempre obediente, María se convirtió en la causa de la salvación para ella y para toda la raza humana".  María es la nueva Eva, como declaró San Ireneo : "El nudo de la desobediencia de Eva fue desatado por la obediencia de María; Lo que la virgen Eva enlazó a través de su incredulidad, la Virgen María se aflojó a través de su fe ".  Al Papa Francisco, le gusta mucho esa imagen de María que ella nos ayuda a desatar los nudos que nos impiden en el camino de fe.  En nuestra relación con Dios, cuando desobedecemos su voluntad, cuando no le escuchamos, cuando nos falta confianza, un tipo de nudo se crea en nosotros.  Estos nudos nos quitan la paz,  la serenidad, y la esperanza.  Estos nudos pueden enredarnos.  Sin embargo, sabemos que nada es imposible con Dios.  María abrió la puerta a Dios para deshacer el nudo del pecado original, la antigua desobediencia.  María, la Madre de Dios y nuestra Madre, nos lleva con paciencia y con amor a Dios para que pueda desentrañar los nudos de nuestras almas.  María concibió por primera vez a Jesús en la fe y lo concibió en la carne siguiendo la voluntad de Dios en su vida. Lo que pasó en la Santísima Virgen María también puede colocarse dentro de nosotros en un sentido espiritual.  Cuando recibimos la palabra de Dios en nuestros corazones con sinceridad y humildad, cuando ponemos su palabra en práctica, Dios toma carne dentro de nosotros y viene a habitar en nosotros.  De esta manera, María como Madre de Dios y como el primer discípulo es nuestro mayor ejemplo de fe, es nuestra Madre que nos guía y conduce a Cristo.  Podemos llevar a Jesús a la vida en un sentido espiritual, de la misma manera María lo trajo a la vida.

      Celebramos el comienzo del Año Nuevo con María, pidiendo sus oraciones e intercesiones por nuestro camino, por nuestra nación y por nuestras familias.  El 1 de enero de este año se celebra el quincuagésimo aniversario del Día Mundial de la Paz, que fue establecido por el Papa Pablo VI.  El tema de este año es "La no violencia: un estilo de política para la paz".   La declaración del Consejo Pontificio sobre Justicia y Paz dice: "La violencia y la paz son el origen de dos formas opuestas de construir la sociedad. La proliferación de focos de violencia produce las consecuencias sociales negativas más graves. La paz, por el contrario, promueve consecuencias positivas y permite el logro de un progreso verdadero ".  El Papa Francisco nos llama a negociar siempre formas de paz en nuestras vidas y en el mundo, incluso cuando la paz parece difícil y poco práctica.   Al trabajar por la paz, debemos traer esperanza al mundo.  El Papa defiende que las disputas se resuelvan mediante negociaciones pacíficas sin disolverse en la violencia, la guerra o el conflicto armado.

      Para mí, la oración que ejemplifica el llamado del Papa a la paz es la oración de la paz de San Francisco de Asís. Con las intercesiones de María y de todos los santos, unamos nuestras oraciones por la paz y el fin de la guerra, el terrorismo y la violencia.  Oremos:  

Señor, haz de mi un instrumento de tu paz.

Que allá donde hay odio, yo ponga el amor. 

Que allá donde hay ofensa, yo ponga el perdón. 

Que allá donde hay discordia, yo ponga la unión. 

Que allá donde hay error, yo ponga la verdad. 

Que allá donde hay duda, yo ponga la Fe. 

Que allá donde desesperación, yo ponga la esperanza. 

Que allá donde hay tinieblas, yo ponga la luz. 

Que allá donde hay tristeza, yo ponga la alegría. 

Oh Señor, que yo no busque tanto ser consolado, cuanto consolar, 

ser comprendido, cuanto comprender, 

ser amado, cuanto amar. 

Porque es dándose como se recibe, 

es olvidándose de sí mismo como uno se encuentra a sí mismo, 

es perdonando, como se es perdonado, 

es muriendo como se resucita a la vida eterna.  AMEN.  

1/2/2017 - Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil the Great, Doctors of the Church and Saints of the Day

      Four great Fathers of the Eastern Church were recognized as Doctors of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1568:  John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Athanasius of Alexandria.  We celebrate two of these great saints today - Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil the Great.  Basil and Gregory were both from Cappadocia in present day Turkey.  A monk who became the Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in 370 AD, Basil fought vigorously against the Arian heresy.  The monastic rule that Basil wrote is still followed in monasteries in the East.  Gregory, a great friend of Basil’s, became Bishop of Constantinople.  He was a great theologian and preacher.  As we celebrate the Christmas season, this quote from Gregory of Nazianzus is very appropriate: “What Jesus was, He laid aside; what He was not, He assumed. He takes upon Himself the poverty of my flesh so that I may receive the riches of His divinity.”  

1/1/2017 - Mary, Mother of God - Luke 2:16-21

       Today, we celebrate the end of the year 2016 and the beginning of a New Year.  On the first day of the New Year, we always celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God - Mary, as the Theotokos, the God bearer through whom Jesus came into the world.   In Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from the Second Vatican Council, it was declared that God did not employ Mary in a purely passive way, but that she freely cooperated in the work of human salvation through her faith and her obedience. The great Early Church Father St. Irenaeus is quoted in Lumen Gentium on Mary, noting: “Being obedient, Mary became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.” Mary is seen as the new Eve, as St Irenaeus states: ““The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience; what the virgin Eve bound through her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened through her faith.”  Pope Francis really likes that image of Mary as helping us untie that knots that hinder us on our journey of faith. In our relationship with God, when we disobey his will, when we do not listen to him, when we lack trust, when we turn to sin, a kind of knot is created in us. These knots take away our peace and serenity, hope and trust. These knots can become tangled, making it difficult to untie them. Yet, we know nothing is impossible with God and his grace. By saying yes to God, Mary opened the door for God to undo the knot of original sin, that ancient disobedience. Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, patiently and lovingly brings us to God so that he can untangle the knots in our souls.  

      Lumen Gentium goes on to say that through Mary’s faith and obedience, she gave birth to the very Son of the Father, not conceived by man, but by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.   Mary first conceived Jesus in faith and then conceived him in the flesh by freely following God’s will and his calling in her life. What took place most singularly in the Blessed Virgin Mary also can take place within us in a spiritual sense.  When we receive the word of God into our hearts with sincerity and humility, when we put his word into practice in our lives, then God take flesh within us and comes to dwell within us.  In this way, Mary as the Mother of God and as the first disciple is not only our greatest example of faith, but our Mother who leads us and guides us to Christ. We can bring Jesus to life in a spiritual sense in the same way Mary brought him to life. 

      We celebrate the beginning of the New Year with Mary as we ask for her prayers and intercessions for our journey, for our nation, and for our families.  January 1st this year marks the 50th anniversary of World Peace Day, which was established by Pope Paul VI. The theme this year is: “Non-Violence: A Style of Politics for Peace.”  The statement issued by the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace states: “Violence and peace are at the origin of two opposite ways to building society. The proliferation of hotbeds of violence produces most serious negative social consequences. Peace, by contrast, promotes positive consequences (in society) and it allows the achievement of real progress.”  Pope Francis calls us to always negotiate ways of peace in our own lives and in the world, even when peace seems difficult and impractical.  In working toward peace, we are to bring hope to the world and to others.  The Pope advocates that disputes be solved through peaceful negotiations without dissolving into violence or war or armed conflict.  

     To me, no prayer exemplifies the Pope’s call to peace more that the Peace prayer of St Francis of Assisi. With the intercessions of Mary and all the saints, let us unite our prayers for peace and an end to war, terrorism, and violence. 

Let us pray: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive, 

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

A Christmas prayer from the Sacramentary of Pope Leo the Great

Wonderful the dignity you bestowed, O God, 
on human nature when you created it;
more wonderful still is its condition when you recreated it. 
Grant we pray, O God, that as Jesus, your Son, 
stooped to share our human nature, 
so may we share the lot of his divine nature, 
through that same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, 
who with you and the Holy Spirit, 
has shared one life and kingly power, 
one Godhead, from all eternity.  AMEN. 

12/30/2016: prayer from the World Meeting of Families - Philadelphia 2015

God and Father of us all, in Jesus, your Son and our Savior,

you have made us your sons and daughters in the family of the Church.

May your grace and love help our families

in every part of the world be united to one another with fidelity to the Gospel.

May the example of the Holy Family, with the aid of your Holy Spirit,

guide all families, especially those most troubled,

to be homes of communion and prayer and to always seek your truth

and live in your love.

Through Christ our Lord.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us!

AMEN.  

12/28/2016 - Feast of the Holy Innocents - Matthew 2:13-18

       The day after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of St Stephen, the first Martyr of the Early Church.  Today, we celebrate some of the youngest martyrs recognized in our faith, the first martyrs killed because of Jesus.  In his tenacity to have Jesus killed, Herod ordered that all boys two years and under in Bethlehem and in the vicinity of that town be put to death.  Yet, Jesus and his family are able to escape unharmed, aided by the warning from the angel. Perhaps we remember the innocents who are killed in our own day: children and innocent victims of war or violence or terrorism, of refugees who need to flee their homelands, of innocent bystanders gunned down on the streets of Chicago in the midst of gang warfare, of believers in the faith persecuted for their religion, of victims killed by terrorist attacks, of the unborn killed through abortion. In the feast of the Holy Innocents that we recognize today, we recognize the dignity of the human being. As we journey through this holy season of Christmas in celebration of the nativity of our Lord, we recognize all those who have given our lives for the faith. The Holy Innocents were too young to know or even believe in Jesus as the Savior, but their lives were given in place of Jesus that he might live. Today’s feast reminds us of the presence and power of darkness in our world, of those who want to trample on others in order to secure their place of prestige and power in the world.  The answer lied in our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God.  

12/24/2016 - Christmas morning mass - John 1:1-18

      "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” These are the opening words that we heard from the prophet Isaiah at our Christmas eve mass yesterday evening on Christmas Eve.  The light of Christ shining in the darkness of night is such a powerful image for us in the midst of the darkness and coldness of winter. We just marked the Winter Solstice on December 21, the day with the shortest amount of daylight in the year. And we have had some cold winter weather here in Northeast Mississippi, at least cold for us in the Deep South.  So, yes, the image of Jesus shining in the midst of the darkness is very real for us this time of the year.  

     Yesterday, we heard the description of Jesus birth from Luke’s Gospel, probably the Scripture passage we associate with Christ’s birth:  of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem from their hometown of Nazareth, of going from place to place but finding nowhere to stay, of Jesus being born in a humble manger, of the angels proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s birth to the humble shepherd while they were watching over their flock. Today’s reading from the beginning of John’s Gospel does not mention the angels or the shepherds or the wise men or even Mary and Joseph - all those things that we associate with the birth of Jesus from Sacred Scripture.  John’s Gospel, the last of the four Gospel accounts written, which was written about a century after Christ’s birth, assumes that the listener knows that tradional Christmas story.  Instead, John gives us an mystical introduction to the story of Jesus that is full of poetry and images and metaphors. The Christmas image that is presented by John is rooted in Old Testament prophecies, like the reading from Isaiah that we hear this morning.  According to John, Christ is a light in the world who has come to extinguish the darkness.  It is so interesting that John starts his Gospel with the same words that started the first book of the Bible, Genesis: “In the beginning…”  In the beginning was Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the active agent through which God created the world. All things came into being through Jesus.  Not one thing came into being without him.   And yet we know that everything did not remain as God created it, which is why Jesus came to earth as the same baby in the manger in Bethlehem that we celebrate today, which is why Christ died on the cross for us to bring us salvation. 

    The image of Christ the light is not to be a theory or a theology for us.  It is to be a real life presence for us in our lives.  Christ is to be our light.  And we are to carry that light to others.  We can see the light of Christ around us in different ways, even around our parish.  As described in Luke's Gospel, Joseph and Mary had a hard time finding a place to stay when they arrived in Bethlehem.  This journey of trying to find lodging is represented in the Hispanic tradition of the posadas that we celebrate each Advent season in our Hispanic community here at St James. The Hispanic community celebrates a novena, nine days in a row in which we pray the rosary and we recreate the lives of Mary and Joseph right before the birth of Jesus. With the rosary, prayers, Bible readings, and activities for the children and youth, the Hispanics prepare for the birth of Christ.   Each night we had more than 100 people attending, with many families and young children, passing down this wonderful Advent and Christmas tradition and preparing a place in our heart for Jesus to reside.  We had different families hosting the posadas each evening, some of whom are families who are new to our parish or who have not been very involved in parish activities.  The light of Christ was shining brightly in those parish gatherings each of those nine evenings.  

      One tradition that St James has had for Christmas from many years is the Care Tree, of giving to families in our parish and throughout the community.  For the second year in a row, one of biggest Care Tree contributions has been to Dismas House, a transitional facility here in Tupelo for federal prisoners who are preparing to go back to the free world. Some of the gifts went to the residents of the facility, items such as Walmart gift cards, work shoes, and warm winter jackets. Many of the gifts went to children of the Dismas residents who would not have gotten many gifts otherwise.  All of you, our very generous parishioners, contributed so much to help those in need.  And we thank you for that.  Through acts of charity and mercy like this, we can be the light of Christ to the world.  

      Whether you are a regular parishioner here, or a visitor or someone that just comes every once in a while, we want you to be a part of our mission and ministry here at St James.  We have a lot going on in this very active, welcoming parish, and we want you to be a part of it: to be the light of Christ in our community, to be the light of Christ in the world. 

      We will journey with Jesus in a special way through the Christmas season these next couple of weeks. Even though the Christmas season ends on Christmas day in our secular world, this joyful season is just starting in the Catholic world. Next weekend we celebrate the New Year and Mary, the Mother of God.  The weekend after that we celebrate the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus.  At that first Christmas, as the Angels sang praises to God, as Mary and Joseph welcomed their newborn baby, as the shepherd heard of God’s Good News of the birth of the Savior, we, too, are called rejoice at the presence of Christ the light with us.  Let us see that light.  Let us be that light.  

Feast of St John the Evangelist - 12/27/2016

     We celebrate many different saints during this first week of Christmas.  Yesterday we celebrated St Stephen, the first martyr of the early Church.  Today, it is St John.  John was the brother of St James the Greater, both of whom were called the Sons of Thunder by Jesus.  James and John were fishermen from Galilee and were the sons of Zebedee and Mary of Salome.  Tradition has it that John's Gospel has been traced to him, probably through a community that traced its identity and spirituality to John.  Of the twelve apostles, John is the only one described in the Gospels as being present at Christ's crucifixion.  Tradition holds that John was the last of the apostles to pass away, the Beloved Disciple who lived out the rest of his life in Ephesus with Mary.  We heard the beginning of John's Gospel at the mass on Christmas day.  John's Gospel does not contain the story of Christ's birth, but rather describes Jesus as the word of God that existed from the very beginning.  

John 1:1-5, 9-14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God, 
to those who believe in his name, 
who were born not by natural generation 
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.

Christmas prayer - Blessed Angela of Foligno (1248 - 1309) Franciscan tertiary and mystic

O Lord Jesus Christ, make me worthy to understand the profound mystery of your holy incarnation, which you have worked for our sake and for our salvation.  Truly there is nothing so great and wonderful as this, that you, my God should become a creature so that we could become like God.  You have humbled yourself and made yourself small, that we might be made mighty.  Blessed are you, O Lord, who came to earth as one of us.  AMEN.  

12/26/2016 - Martyrdom of St Stephen

      The day after Christmas, the birth of our Savior, we recognize the first martyr of the early Church, St Stephen.  Stephen’s martyrdom is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; we don’t really know much more about him than what is recorded in that book of the Bible.  Stephen was a very important martyr in the early Church.  Scripture scholars believe that he was probably a Jew who had lived outside of Israel and who was greatly influenced by the Greek culture.  We do not know the circumstances of how Stephen converted to the Way of Jesus or how he became a leader in the early Church.  Stephen died by being stoned by an angry mob.  And Scripture is not entirely clear as to whether the mob was acting outside the auspices of Jewish law or was following Stephen’s trial by the Sanhedrin.  As we hear of others in our modern world who are being persecuted for their faith, as we see our own religious liberties curtailed and limited, perhaps the story of Stephen has even more resonance and meaning.  

24 de diciembre de 2016 - La Noche Buena - Isaías 9: 1-6, Lucas 2:1-14

     “El pueblo que caminaba en tinieblas vio una gran luz; sobre los que vivían en tierra de sombras, una luz resplandeció.” Estas son las primeras palabras que escuchamos del profeta Isaías en nuestra misa de Noche buena.  La luz de Cristo que brilla en la oscuridad de la noche es una imagen tan poderosa para nosotros en la oscuridad y el frío del invierno.  Acabamos de marcar el solsticio de invierno el 21 de diciembre, el día con la menor cantidad de luz y del sol en el año. Entonces, la imagen de Jesús brillando en la oscuridad es una realidad para nosotros en la temporada del invierno.  Vemos la Navidad por nuestros propios ojos, y esa perspectiva puede variar mucho.  Podemos mirar a la Navidad por los ojos de un niño: les gustan dar y recibir los regalos de Navidad, les gustan comer la galletas de Navidad y dulces especiales, una temporada de árboles de Navidad, luces y decoraciones. La semana pasada, celebramos la Navidad con los residentes de la comunidad de los ancianos de Traceway, recordando a los amigos y los familiares que están enfermos o que han fallecido, disfrutando de dulces navideños y oyendo las canciones de Navidad, pensando en los recuerdos de muchas celebraciones navideñas del pasado - de familiares y amigos. Hoy escuchamos el Evangelio de Lucas sobre el nacimiento de Jesús, de María y José viajando a Belén desde su ciudad natal de Nazaret, de su búsqueda de una posada, de su nacimiento del humilde pesebre, de los ángeles proclamando la Buena Nueva del nacimiento de Cristo a los humildes pastores en el campo con su rebaño.

     No sólo tenemos nuestros propios ojos para ver la verdad de Navidad, no sólo tenemos el Evangelio de San Lucas, sino que los otros tres evangelios también dan tres perspectivas muy diferentes.  El Evangelio de Marcos no menciona el nacimiento de Jesús, sino que comienza con Jesús y Juan el Bautista como adultos, con Juan bautizando a Jesús y al pueblo de Israel en el río Jordán, preparando el camino para el Señor.  Mañana por la mañana, a la misa de las 10:30 am, tenemos el comienzo del Evangelio de San Juan. El Evangelio de San Juan no menciona los ángeles, los pastores, María, José y los tres Reyes Magos. Juan nos da una imagen mística y poética de Jesús como la Palabra de Dios que existió al principio, como la Palabra que da luz y vida a toda la creación.

     Sí,  traemos nuestra propia perspectiva a la historia de Navidad. En la Noche Buena del año de 1992, yo estaba sirviendo como misionero en Winnipeg, Canadá.  Yo había llegado en octubre de ese año para servir como misionero trabajando en una cocina de sopa en el centro de esta gran ciudad canadiense.  Cuando llegué en octubre, Winnipeg ya había tenido su primera nevada. Ya era un invierno frío y oscuro cuando la Navidad llegó a la ciudad.  Estaba sirviendo en un grupo misionero ecuménico.  El pastor de la congregación menonita me pidió que hablara en el celebración de la Noche Buena acerca de mi experiencia con Cristo como la luz en mi vida.  De hecho, recuerdo tan claramente que cuando manejando mi bicicleta al servicio de la iglesia esa noche, la temperatura era menos 40 - sin el frío del viento.  Mientras pensaba y oraba acerca de Cristo como la luz de mi vida, la luz de Cristo estaba en la gente que servimos en la cocina de sopa, no sólo en sus luchas y desafíos de la gente que estaba uniendo a la cruz de Cristo, sino también en el espíritu de comunidad que había allí.  Los dos años que pasaba trabajando allí en Winnipeg han influido el resto de mi vida y en mi sacerdocio de una manera importante. Son recuerdos maravillosos de la Navidad y de Cristo como una luz que brilla en la oscuridad.

      José y María tuvieron dificultades para encontrar un lugar donde quedarse cuando llegaron a Belén. Este camino de encontrar alojamiento está representado en la tradición de nuestra comunidad hispana de las posadas que celebramos cada temporada de Adviento aquí en St James.  La comunidad hispana celebra una novena, nueve días seguidos en la cual rezamos el rosario y recreamos las vidas de María y José justo antes del nacimiento de Jesús. Cada noche tuvimos más de 100 personas atendiendo, con muchas familias y niños pequeños, pasando por esta maravillosa tradición de Adviento y Navidad y preparando un lugar en nuestro corazón para que Jesús residiera.

     Caminaremos con Jesús de una manera especial durante la temporada navideña durante las próximas dos semanas. El próximo fin de semana celebraremos el Año Nuevo y María, la Madre de Dios en nuestra misa. El fin de semana después de eso celebraremos la visita de los Reyes Magos al niño Jesús.  Mientras los Ángeles cantan esta noche, mientras María y José dan la bienvenida a su recién nacido, mientras los pastores oyen de la Buena Nueva de Dios, regocijémonos de la presencia de Cristo la luz con nosotros. Veamos esa luz de Cristo. Seamos esa luz.

A Christmas prayer - St Thomas Aquinas

Light of lights, all gloom dispelling, 
you came to make your dwelling here within our world of sight. 
Lord, in pity and in power, in our darkest hour, you rend the clouds and show your light. 
Praise to you in heaven and earth, now and forever. 
Christ, you are our sun and our shield.  
Lord, for us you gave up your life. 
Those of us who put our trust in you are saved, 
for us all your mercy stands revealed.  Amen.  

Posadas - St James Catholic Church - Advent 2016

The Hispanic community celebrates the Posadas for nine days leading up to Christmas.  We recreate the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, trying to find a place to stay and finding no room in the inns.  We pray the rosary during the Posados.  There are games and special treats for the children.  It is a very wonderful time for the families to prepare on their Advent journey.  

12/24/2016 - Christmas eve - Isaiah 9: 1-6, Luke 2:1-14

     “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” These are the opening words that we hear from the prophet Isaiah at our Christmas eve mass this evening.  The light of Christ shining in the darkness of night is such a powerful image for us in the midst of the darkness and coldness of winter. We just marked the Winter Solstice on December 21, the day with the shortest amount of daylight in the year.  So, yes, the image of Jesus shining in the midst of the darkness is very real for us this time of the year.  We see Christmas through our own eyes, and that perspective can vary greatly.  Think of Christmas through the eyes of a child, giving and receiving presents, Christmas cookies and special treats, beautifully decorated Christmas trees, lights and garland, a glorious, glimmering season. Then, earlier this week, we celebrated Christmas with the residents of the Traceway retirement community, remembering friends and family members who are sick or who have passed away, enjoying familiar Christmas treats and hearing Christmas carols, thinking of memories of so many Christmas celebrations with family and loved ones. Today, we hear the Gospel of Luke’s description of Jesus birth, probably the Scripture passage we associate with Christ’s birth, of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem from their hometown of Nazareth, of going from place to place but finding nowhere to stay, of Jesus being born in a humble manger, of the angels proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s birth to the humble shepherd while they were watching over their flock.  

     Not only do we have our own eyes through which we see Christmas, not only do we have the account from Luke, but the other three Gospels give three very different perspectives as well.  The Gospel of Mark does not even mention the birth of Jesus, but rather starts out with Jesus and John the Baptist as adults, with John baptizing Jesus and the people of Ancient Israel in the Jordan River, preparing the way for the Lord. Tomorrow morning, if you make it to our 10:30 am mass, you will hear the beginning of John’s Gospel.  Rather than mentioning angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and the three Magi, John gives us a very mystical, poetic image of Jesus as the Word of God that existed at the beginning, as the Word that gives light and life to all of creation. 

    Yes, we all bring our own perspective to the Christmas story.  Back on Christmas eve in 1992, I was serving as a missionary in Winnipeg, Canada.  I had arrived in October of that year to serve as a missionary working in a soup kitchen and a food bank in the inner city of this large Canadian city.  When I arrived in October, Winnipeg had already had its first snowfall.  It was a cold and dark winter already by the time Christmas rolled into town.  I was serving in a ecumenical missionary group whose main sponsor was the Mennonite Church.  The pastor of the local Mennonite congregation that sponsored us as missionaries asked me to speak at the Christmas eve church service as to how I experienced Christ the light in my life.  In fact, I remember so clearly that when I road my bicycle to the church service that evening, it was 40 degrees below zero - actual temperature - without the wind chill.  As I thought about and prayed about how I saw Christ the light in my life, I reflected upon how I saw the light of Christ in the people we served at the soup kitchen, not only in their struggles and their challenges that I saw being united to the cross of Christ, but also in the sense of community that they street people had when they came to the soup kitchen.  I remember serving a Christmas meal to them that first year I was there, feeling a deep sense of community and belonging and service to the people of God.  The two years I spent working at the soup kitchen and food bank in Winnipeg have influenced the rest of my life and my priesthood in a major way.  Those are very wonderful memories of Christmas and of Christ as a light shining in the darkness. 

      Joseph and Mary had a hard time finding a place to stay when they arrived in Bethlehem.  This journey of trying to find lodging is represented in the Hispanic tradition of the posadas that we celebrate each Advent season in our Hispanic community here at St James. The Hispanic community celebrates a novena, nine days in a row in which we pray the rosary and we recreate the lives of Mary and Joseph right before the birth of Jesus.  Each night we had more than 100 people attending, with many families and young children, passing down this wonderful Advent and Christmas tradition and preparing a place in our heart for Jesus to reside. 

      One tradition that St James has had for Christmas is the Care Tree, of giving to families in our parish and throughout the community.  For the second year in a row, one of biggest Care Tree contributions has been to Dismas House, a transitional facility here in Tupelo for federal prisoners who are preparing to go back to the free world.  All of you, our very generous parishioners, contributed so much to help those in need.  And we thank you for that. Whether you are a regular parishioner here, or a visitor or someone that just comes every once in a while, we want you to be a part of our mission and ministry here at St James.  We have a lot going on in this very active, welcoming parish, and we want you to be a part of it.  

      We will journey with Jesus in a special way through the Christmas season these next couple of weeks.  Next weekend we celebrate the New Year and Mary, the Mother of God.  The weekend after that we celebrate the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus.  As the Angels sing tonight, as Mary and Joseph welcome their newborn baby, as the shepherd hear of God’s Good News, let us rejoice at the presence of Christ the light with us.  Let us see that light.  Let us be that light.  

Christmas mass schedule - St James Catholic Church - Tupelo, Mississippi

Christmas is a very joyful celebration at St James Catholic Church in Tupelo. The following is our schedule of masses for Christmas weekend. We invite all of you to join us here for mass at St James to celebrate the birth of our Savior.


Christmas eve - Saturday 
---10:00 am at Traceway Retirement Community on Main Street (take a left at the main entrance in the main buiding - mass will be held in the room right next to the library.)
---4:30 pm - Christmas music provided by the youth and children under the direction of Erin Bristow followed by the vigil mass at 5:00 pm.
---7:00 pm - mass in Spanish.
---11:30 - Christmas carols provided by our adult choir under the direction of Lailah Valentine, with the traditional Catholic midnight mass to follow at 12:00 midnight.

Christmas morning - we will only have one mass at 10:30 am, bilingual (Spanish and English), with music provided by the St James Filipino choir under the direction of Dr Noel Garcia.

12/23/2016 - Friday of the 4th week of Advent - Luke 1:57-66

       We have been hearing passages from the first Chapter of Luke this last week of Advent.  Today, the day before our Christmas Eve mass, it seems very appropriate that we hear about the birth of John the Baptist, since John’s life and Jesus’ life were so intrinsically linked.  Before John was born, an Angel appeared to his father, Zechariah, telling him that his wife Elizabeth would bear a child, that this child would be the first great prophet to appear in Ancient Israel, that this child would prepare the way for the Messiah.  Zechariah was a priest in the line of Aaron, a very learned and intelligent man.  Yet, his response to God’s messenger was to laugh, to believe that it was impossible, for his wife had been barren for years.  How could this be? Zechariah did not think that God’s covenant and promises to Abraham and his descendants could be fulfilled in this way.  We need to open our hearts to the impossible and the unimaginable, for everything is possible and imaginable with God.  For the last couple of years, I knew of some Cubs fans who were wearing T-shirts that had the Cubs logo on it that said: “Please, Lord, just one time before I die.”  Well, we all know that Cubs won this year - we won in such nail-biting, dramatic fashion.  Yes, anything is possible.  And certainly anything is possible with God.  Today, we remember God and his promises as we get ready to celebrate the birth of our Lord tomorrow.  

12/22/2016 - Thursday of the 4th week of Advent - Luke 1:46-56

    Mary has an important role in our Catholic faith, and she has an even more prominent role in our Advent time of preparation. Not only do we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Immaculate Conception in our Advent weeks of celebration, but the last few days, Mary has had a prominent role in our Gospel readings, with the Annunciation and the Visitation being our Gospels these past two days, and now with the Magnificat being the Gospel for today.  If we listen very closely to the words of the Magnificat, Mary’s message is very bold and radical.  There is nothing timid or wishy-washy about her words.  Mary was rooted in her Jewish faith and in the history of the people of Ancient Israel. She knew very well the struggles of her people and the violence, cruelty, and oppression that goes on in the world.  With hope and courage, Mary declares God’s justice and compassion. We honor Mary for the way she believes.  We honor Mary for her remarkable faith.  In the darkest moments in our lives, in our struggles and our sufferings, let us take to heart the words of our Blessed Mother.  Hail Mary, full of Grace, may we have the same sense of praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving as you express in your song to God.  

12/20/2016 - Tuesday of the 4th week of Advent - Luke 1:26-38

     “ Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”  The Angel Gabriel makes this simple statement to Mary.  We cannot imagine how Mary is feeling at the visit from the Angel Gabriel, this holy messenger of God.  Mary has just been told that she miraculously will bear a child, a child who is to be the Son of God, the Son of the Most High.  Can we even begin to imagine the fear or shock or incomprehension that is going through Mary’s mind at this moment?   Like Mary, we can have fear of the unknown in our lives, fear of something that is new and unimaginable. Sometimes, God can call us to a place that can scary, frightening, and disconcerting. We might have thought that we knew the world around us, that we knew the rules, but then the world of the present seems to be a place that is so different from what we knew, with values that are so different from what our faith teaches. It is not only Mary who has the responsibility to carry out God’s will in her life.  All of us have that responsibility as disciples of Christ.  We are to take the Good News of Christ we receive in our lives and to apply it to our vocation and with the interactions we have with others.   
       I  really love the season of Advent, this time of reflection, waiting, and renewal that we have every year before the Christmas season.  In his book A Pilgrim’s Almanac, Edward Hays says this: “Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibility not to waste this Advent time.” During these last days of Advent, may we use this time productively to prepare for the coming of the Lord. 

12/21/2016 - Wednesday of the 4th week of Advent - Luke 1:39—45

     I really like this quote the focuses us on a specific spirituality for the Advent season:  “Advent spirituality is not a time to meditate on the actual birth of Christ. According to tradition, we ought not to sing Christmas carols until Christmas itself, for Advent is not a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the manger but a time to long for the coming of the Savior. The appropriate sense of this season is captured in the pleading of “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.”  Our readings, our liturgies, and our traditions during Advent help us prepare for the coming of the Lord at Christmas.  As we hear of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth today, let us greet Mary with the same words that Elizabeth used:  “Blessed are you who believe.”  For that is the most important thing we can say on our journey of faith.  We can study theology for years and years.  We can read the Bible again and again.  We can know the Church’s moral teachings up and down, inside and out.  However, if we cannot say those two words - “I believe. - What does it all mean?  Today, we hear of Mary’s faith.  We hear of Mary’s trust.  We hear of the baby John the Baptist leaping in his mother’s womb in the mere presence of Mary and Jesus.  John knows that he is in the presence of something special. Mary and Elizabeth come together in their visitation in joy and in trust, in praise and in charity.  Like Mary and Elizabeth, let us all have the faith to believe the impossible.  

Advent spirituality

I found this quote attributed to Robert Webber on Advent spirituality and the meaning of Advent in the trajectory of the liturgical year and in our preparations for Christmas.  I really love this quote.  “Advent spirituality is not a time to meditate on the actual birth of Christ. According to tradition, we ought not to sing Christmas carols until Christmas itself, for Advent is not a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the manger but a time to long for the coming of the Savior. The appropriate sense of this season is captured in the pleading of “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel."

Encendemos todas las velas de la corona de adviento - el cuarto domingo del adviento - 18 de diciembre de 2016

Señor, nuestro tiempo de preparación está casi terminado

mientras iluminamos todas las velas en nuestra corona de Adviento hoy.

En una semana, celebraremos el nacimiento de su hijo.

Ayúdanos a conocer el gran don que nos das

en el Señor encarnado Jesucristo.

Como comparta tu hijo con nosotros,

ayúdanos a compartir tu hijo con todos los que encontramos.

Que Jesús se encarne en nosotros. AMÉN.

Lighting of the Advent wreath - 4th Sunday of Advent - December 18, 2016

Lord, our time of preparation is almost at an end 

as we light all the candles on our Advent wreath today. 

Soon we will celebrate the birth of your son. 

Help us to know the great gift that you give us 

in the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. 

As you share your son with us, 

help us to share your son with everyone we meet. 

Let Jesus become incarnate in us.  AMEN.  

12/16/2016 - Friday of the 3rd week of Advent - John 7:33-36

     We hear a lot from John the Baptist during Advent.  He was a witness to the coming of Jesus in so many ways.  He leaped in his mother’s womb in the presence of Jesus and Mary.  He prepared a way for the coming of the Lord by the baptism of the people of Ancient Israel in the Jordan River, by his proclamation of God’s Kingdom, by his call to renewal and repentance.  Yet, although Jesus states that John indeed was a light shining and burning in the wilderness to give testimony, he does not accept any testimony, because he has been given authority by the Father as the Son of God.  John, as a mere human being, stated that he was not worthy to carry Jesus’ sandals.   By Christ’s healings and miracles, he proclaimed God’s Kingdom and provided evidence to us.  And I think of how we have these little miracle all around us.  One of the patients I visited in the hospital was telling me that the greatest cathedral he ever visited was in a small town in Wyoming, where the window in back of the altar looked out on the Grand Teton mountain range, a cathedral not built out of human hands, but rather a cathedral built directly by God.  Yet, it requires a heart of faith to be able to recognize such as coming from God.  May God open our eyes and refresh our hearts during this holy Advent season of preparation as me journey toward our celebration of the birth of our Savior.  

12/15/2016 - Thursday of the 3rd week of Advent - Luke 7:24-30

      There is a famous building in Chicago called the Tribune Tower, located in the heat of the downtown on Michigan Avenue right near the Chicago River.  Housing the publisher of the great Chicago Tribune Newspaper, it was built in 1925. It is quite an impressive structure, built in a neo-gothic style, complete with flying buttresses near the top of the building.  One of the unique elements of the building is fragments from other historic places throughout the world, many of which were collected by the foreign newspaper correspondents who traveled throughout the world.  These rocks come from places such as the Reims Cathedral in France, where Joan of Arc was from; St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome; the Berlin Wall; the Antarctic expedition station; Suleiman’s mosque in Istanbul, Turkey; Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois; and the Great Wall of China.  I remember being a child walking down Michigan Avenue with my mom pointing out all these rocks from these famous places throughout the world.  On the gallery wall of the Tribune Tower is inscribed a quote from the Catholic author Flannery O’Connor that says:  “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.”  The rocks of Tribune Tower and this Flannery O’Connor quote in our Little Blue Book of reflections for Advent and Lent.  I thought that this quote from O’Connor was so appropriate in the context of today’s Gospel about John the Baptist.  Jesus proclaimed that John was not a reed swaying in the wind, who shifted his position with the passing fashions, who just told people what they wanted to hear.  John the Baptist spoke the truth with tenacity and courage, which is why the people of Ancient Israel went out to hear the truth that was spoken without any fears or trepidations.  Even if the people were not happy with what they heard, even if the truth punched them in the stomach, it was undeniably the truth.  John the Baptist and Jesus were both put to death for speaking God’s truth and proclaiming God’s kingdom.  As we journey during this holy season of Advent, let us not be afraid to hear God’s truth as it is proclaimed to us.  

12/14/2016 - Wednesday of the 3rd week in Advent - Memorial of St John of the Cross - Psalm 85

      I look at the message that our psalm declares today - that the LORD proclaims peace to his people, that the Lord’s salvation is near to those who fear him and respect him, that glory dwells in our land.  What a hopeful, comforting message.  Yet, we know that the reality of life can be harsh indeed.  St John of the Cross is the Saint we celebrate today. To put John of the Cross into historical perspective, Martin Luther published his 95 theses in 1517, which stated the Protestant Reformer.  John of the Cross, who became an important Church reformer himself, was born in 1542.  We can describe John of the Cross not only as a Church reformer, mystic, priest, Carmelite monk, spiritual writer, Doctor of the Church, and spiritual advisor and confessor of the great Carmelite nun St Teresa of Avila. Author of the famous poem, The Dark Night of the Soul, John of the Cross is considered to be one of the greatest poets in the history of the Spanish language. 

      Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote: “Just as we can never separate asceticism from mysticism, so in Saint John of the Cross we find darkness and light, suffering and joy, sacrifice and love united together so closely that they seem at times to be identified.” There are so many great quotes of St John of the Cross, but these very poetic words really speak to me: 

“Never was fount so clear, 

undimmed and bright;

From it alone, 

I know proceeds all light, 

although ’tis night.”

      I remember when my plane landed in Spain last January for my pilgrimage journey, I immediately thought - I am in the land of John of the Cross, of Teresa of Avila, of Ignatius of Loyola, of John of Avila, some of the greatest figure in the history of Catholicism, and all of them came out of 16th century Spain.  John of the Cross, we thank you for your courage, your mystical faith, your poetic words, your prophetic vision.  We unite our prayers to yours.