Dear Beloved Parishioners,
So, just a few quick items for this Sunday night.
1) Thanks for the prayers for the Priest’s Retreat at the White House this past weekend. The weather was AMAZING, the retreat master was insightful, and God, as he is accustomed to doing, showed up in wonderful ways. I will be processing the results for a while, but my first takeaway is to do my best to be grounded in the present moment. That is where God lives. Not in the past, nor in the future, but in the now… And when I stay there, life is very good…
2) Kudos to the 5th grade boys soccer team who lost a thrilling overtime game for City-County Championship today, 4-3. But what a great season and a great run to be in the finals…
3) Just a head’s up for the upcoming Holiday and Holy Day Masses.
Thanksgiving Day’s Mass will be at 9a.m.
Dec. 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception IS a Holy Day of OBLIGATION. We will have Masses at 6:30 and 8:00 am, and 7pm. that Wednesday…
Christmas Falls on a Saturday this year, which shortens the Feasts of the Holy Family and Epiphany to a Sunday only affair. (unless somebody wants to find a priest and musicians to conduct Masses on Christmas day and New Year’s day in the evening…) You will see this schedule numerous times, but here ya go…
Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24 5 pm & Midnight
Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25 9 am and 11 am
Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday, December 26 7:30, 9:00 and 11:00am.
The Feast of Mary, the Mother of God:
Saturday, January 1 -9:00am (a Holy Day, but not of Obligation)
The Feast of the Epiphany;
Sunday, January 2 7:30, 9:00 and 11:00am.
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THE DEEPER DIVE into Sunday’s Scripture, once more from the good people at The Paulist Evangelization Ministries…
This Sunday is the second to last Sunday of our liturgical year. As we approach the end of the Church year, our Gospel invites us to consider Jesus’ predictions and teaching about the end of the world. In the context of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ words about this are spoken to his disciples as he prepares them for his passion and death.
Before we consider Jesus’ words, it is important to note the political backdrop against which many think Mark’s Gospel was written. Most scholars concur that Mark wrote his Gospel for Christians living in or near Rome about 30 to 40 years after the death of Jesus. This was a time of political turmoil in Rome. Some Christians experienced persecution by the Romans during the reign of the emperor Nero (about 64 A.D.). Jewish revolutionaries rebelled against the Romans, which led the Romans to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In this time of political turmoil and persecution, many in Mark’s community might have wondered if the end times predicted by Jesus were in fact quite near.
Last Sunday we heard Jesus’ observation about the contributions being made to the temple treasury and the example of sacrificial giving that he saw in the poor widow’s offering. If we had been reading Mark’s Gospel continuously, we would have heard Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple, his teaching about the costs of discipleship, and the woes that will accompany the end times. Finally, we would have heard Jesus instruct his disciples about the need for watchfulness so that they will not be caught unprepared for this final day of judgment.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues this teaching by offering his disciples signs to look for that will indicate that the coming of the Son of Man is near. His words and images draw upon Old Testament imagery, especially images found in the Book of Daniel. Next, Jesus offers the lesson of the fig tree, a parable that teaches that if one knows how to read the signs, one can be prepared for the end times. Jesus also teaches, however, that no one knows when the end time will come, except the Father. In the verses that follow this reading in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus continues to warn his disciples to be on watch for this end time.
Jesus’ words are not spoken to frighten his disciples, nor should they frighten us. Rather, they are offered to prepare us for the changes we will experience during our lifetimes and at the end times. Our consolation and hope is found in the lasting nature of Jesus’ words and God’s never-ending love for us.
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So, I was going to insert a picture, but the software is being wonky tonight. So, instead, once more a bit of music… One of the songs that was a big part of my College and Graduate School years comes from the Movie/Play Godspell. Seeing that we are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, it seems an appropriate song to end this good day with…
or if you want to WATCH the movie version – vocally, probably a bit better, and it certainly takes you back to the Godspell experience of the bright costumes, dancing and exuberance of that play…
Blessings,
Fr Bill