If the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs stock footage of baptisms and first Communions, we have it, as my Mary just transferred to DVD some 40 hours of 8-millimeter video we taped in the 1990s, when 20 of our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews were in the formative stage.
When the flat screen showed our youngest coming down the stairs on Christmas morning 1999, it put me in the way-back machine and in the mood for Bing Crosby.
Music on the turntable was the signal to the brothers McMullen that we were clear to barrel down from our attic bedroom on the morning of Dec. 25. Most years, that sound was Crosby’s seminal record album, “Merry Christmas.”
It opens with “Silent Night” and “Adeste Fideles/O Come, All Ye Faithful,” as moving a gathering hymn as any. Tracks 3 and 6, reminders of the Greatest Generation, oil the tear ducts.
Crosby recorded Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” in 1942, and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” a year later. In December 1944, as my father and the rest of the 2nd Army readied for the Battle of the Bulge, you can picture those men listening to those songs, which evoke hardship and sacrifice.
The baby my mother is cradling in the accompanying photo, taken Easter Sunday 1955, is me. There are six kids 8 or younger. Church Street was not Easy Street, but my parents made Christmas special.
My father shuffled bills like a poker hand, deciding which creditor would have to wait, as he budgeted for the Western Auto in the Ritchie Shopping Center, the source of Radio Flyer wagons and Baltimore Colt helmets and James Bond attaché cases, and, I suppose, dolls and girls’ stuff too.
My father did splurge on himself in one area. While the rest of America tapped its feet to Mitch Miller and Lawrence Welk on a tinny TV set, our household heard Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, out of massive stereo speakers in hardwood cabinets.
I never thanked my father for my musical snobbery.
He thought of country as hillbilly music, which is a pity, because he would have appreciated “If We Make It Through December.” A newsroom mentor turned me on to Merle Haggard, who 40 years ago wrote and recorded that song about a father “laid off down at the factory,” fretting about how his little girl cannot “understand why Daddy can’t afford no Christmas cheer.”
That father worries that he has few blessings to give his child; mine lived to share his.
Most years my household can take in the song only once, but it needs playing, as 50 workers at a steel plant in Essex, my zip code, just lost their jobs. Many outreaches, thank God, make it a point to provide a Christmas for children who otherwise would not have one, but what happens come Dec. 26?
Haggard’s song is an evergreen, as poignant in July as it is in December. It’s a message of empathy, such as the Sermon on the Mount or the seemingly daily preaching we hear from Pope Francis, about caring for all, whether they be unemployed or homeless, elderly or unborn, suffering from addiction or poor in spirit.
For all its bleakness, there is hope in “If We Make It Through December,” that as the snow falls, the father and his family “got plans to be in a warmer place come summertime.”
Pope Francis is telling us that we are that hope, the hands of Jesus.
Father Ruane marks 25 years in Poplar Springs
By George P. Matysek Jr.
gmatysek@CatholicReview.org
POPLAR SPRINGS – When Mary Ann Gehle’s brother-in-law was killed in a farming accident 18 years ago, her pastor at St. Michael in western Howard County helped her family through the tragedy simply by being present.
“He sat and talked with us,” Gehle remembered, calling the priest’s compassionate presence and assurance of prayer “very comforting.”
“He’s always there for his parishioners,” Gehle said. “That’s where his heart is.”
Father Michael J. Ruane, the man cherished by the Gehle family and others, has been St. Michael’s leader for a quarter century.
One of the longest-serving pastors of a single parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the 70-year-old Baltimore native will mark his anniversary at St. Michael with a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. – 25 years to the day when Father Ruane first reported for duty.
The easygoing priest, who admitted he didn’t even know where Poplar Springs was when he heard of his new assignment, has overseen tremendous growth. Fueled by the spread of the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore suburbs, the number of registered families has grown from 600 in 1988 to nearly 1,600 today.
Father Ruane led a successful Heritage of Hope capital campaign to erect a religious education wing and multipurpose building. He also oversaw the restoration of the parish’s small church that dates to 1879. Today, the historic church is used for daily Mass and other liturgies, while a larger church built in 1983 serves as the main sanctuary.
The parish is currently completing the archdiocesan “Embracing the Mission-Shaping the Future” capital campaign, with plans to use its share to renovate the front church entrance walkway, upgrade the rectory and make other improvements.
Father Ruane said he has been inspired by parishioner generosity, not only to the capital campaigns, but also by their response to his ongoing call to ministry.
“I try to accept people where they are and respect their talents and include them in ministry,” Father Ruane said. “It’s a collaborative, collegial style.”
Gehle noted that the pastor’s approach works. It’s not pretentious, demanding or overpowering, she said.
“He’s more of a servant who enables the laity to participate in the life of the church,” she said. “He sees God has a plan for everyone, and he likes to watch that unfold and affirm it.”
William “Sonny” and Betsy Richardson, a couple married by Father Ruane who often played tennis with the priest, said parishioners appreciate his outreach. Sonny Richardson remembered that before the priest’s elderly mother had to relocate to a hospice, she lived with him in the rectory in her later years. When Father Ruane was visiting his dying mother in the hospice, Richardson said, a stranger asked him to pray with her family – and he obliged.
“He spent an hour with her family,” he said. “That’s the kind of person he is.”
Father Ruane said he has no other desire in life than being a parish priest. He has no plans to retire.
“I like to be with people at significant transitions in their lives,” he said, “which means, basically, the sacraments.”
He’s been touched by the “25 for 25” campaign that some parishioners started. It asks each family to donate $25 to Father Ruane in honor of his 25 years. The money will help him purchase a new car to replace his 11-year-old Ford Taurus.
“The response has been phenomenal,” he said. “The expression of appreciation has been overwhelming. You never know, really, how you are affecting people until something like this happens.”
Countdown to Christmas: Five days left: Holiday music on Pandora, memories of a dear departed friend, today’s O Antiphon and prayer, and Marian Christmas music
Deserted hallways: School closed for Christmas Break at John Carroll yesterday at 11:30 with the end of semester exams. The kids were smiling from ear to ear as they made their way down the hallways to 17 days of vacation from class and studies. Their greetings of “Merry Christmas” and “Have a great vacation” amid hugs and handshakes were the best part of my day. (Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)
Introduction:
In the last Advent days leading up to Christmas, I will share some reflections, prayers, and music for you to enjoy during this very hectic holiday season.
Christmas Music:
Have you been listening to Christmas music? It seems that seasonal music really helps to get people in a festive spirit for Christmas. Lite 102 has had their holiday music playing around the clock for some weeks now.
I usually do not listen to the holiday-only selections until December. There’s a place and time for everything, and I appreciate it more as we get closer to the actual celebrations.
My husband and I bought a wireless Sonos system this past summer and have been enjoying the crystal clear sound of its music throughout our house. You control the music selections, volume, and speaker locations with your iPhone or IPad apps.
We usually play our favorite genre music from Pandora. Our all-time favorite is the Frankie Valli station. It plays great tunes from the same era and style as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. We love it year round.
Last week I thought to do a search to see if there was a similar station for holiday music and was delighted to find the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Holiday station. It is spectacular!! All the music is classic. You won’t find any current artists there, but you will hear all the golden holiday classics that our grandparents listened and danced to. Such beautiful nostalgia will warm the hearts of all of us who are over 50, and will certainly delight young listeners who like older music as well.
Tune in and listen to golden-oldies like “Buon Natale” by Nat King Cole, “Love is a Christmas Rose” by Perry Como, “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Doris Day, “The Secret of Christmas” by Johnny Mathis, “Silver Bells” by Burl Ives, Frank Sinatra’s “The Christmas Waltz,” and such sacred classics as “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “Remember Whose Birthday/ Happy Birthday, Gentle Savior” by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, “Child of God” by Bobby Darin, and “Silent Night” by the Platters.
“Mistletoe and Holly (O By Gosh, By Golly)”
Some songs elicit a flood of memories.
Frank Sinatra’s “Mistletoe and Holly/ O By Gosh, By Golly” is a perfect example. This great song brings us memories of one of George’s dear friends, R.C., his former neighbor in Texas, who passed away in July, 2012 after a tough battle with cancer. They were great friends when George lived near the town of Tomball in Houston in the 1980s.
Every year when those words “O By Gosh, By Golly” start sounding on the radio, we immediately think of this fun-loving man who loved to sing this equally-fun song. When George and I were engaged in 2002, I first “met” R.C. on the phone. He became a special friend to me as well, and embraced me into their “Texas family of friends and neighbors.”
My best memory of R.C. was when I was finally able to meet him in person in 2006 when I arranged for him to fly here to Maryland for our Christmas party as a surprise to George. It was so great to plan this surprise visit and plot our strategy to get him here to our house in Bel Air. My son Joseph, then 20, picked up R.C. from BWI airport with just a verbal description. By the time they arrived here at our home, R.C. and Joseph were best buds.
George was stunned and surprised, both of them had tears flowing as they laughed and talked over each other. R.C. was able to enjoy our holiday party, meeting my family and our neighbors, seeing again George’s daughter Tracy, then-expectant with Tyler, and meeting her husband Stephen. It was a fun time for everyone.
R.C. attended the Ravens game the next day with George. They were thrilled that the Ravens were victorious over the Cleveland Browns 27-17. Great day, great game. They came home smiling and happy.
We finished off the weekend with a family dinner on Sunday afternoon. The photos we took that weekend bring back great memories to our hearts.
George and R.C. (right) were off to the Ravens-Browns game bright and early. (December 17, 2006 Photo by Patti Murphy Dohn)
The ones we have loved who are no longer with us are remembered as we share stories of years gone by and relive those wonderful memories…. May they rest in peace as we not only remember them, but honor their lives by how we live.
One of the many gifts R.C. brought from Texas that 2006 weekend included this ornament for our pug Daisy that R.C. “engraved” with his favorite self-made greeting “La Huda!!”
——–
Today’s “O Antiphon”
“O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!”
Pope Francis urged the faithful in his homily yesterday at morning Mass to pray the “O Antiphons” to experience humility and experience God’s grace.
This minute-long video includes all seven O Antiphons sung in Latin Gregorian Chant by the Cantarte Regensburg. Closing your eyes, you can imagine the monks chanting this verses throughout the centuries.
Music for your Enjoyment:
The final days leading up to Christmas always bring to my mind our Blessed Mother and all that she went through from the Annunciation to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Some of the sacred music of the season that is devoted to her journey to the Nativity always brings tears to my eyes.
“Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” Sung by Amy Grant:
Set with scenes from the 2007 film “The Nativity Story” by New Line Productions, Inc.
———-
“Mary’s Boy Child” by Harry Belafonte.
This music video is also set to clips from “The Nativity Story”
One of my favorite songs of Christmas, I first heard “Mary’s Boy Child” when my daughter Meighan was in kindergarten at St. Margaret School, Bel Air. For their Christmas show in the church on the last day of school that year, Meighan and her classmates were dressed in white robes and angel wings, and sang the chorus to this poignant song with their music teacher Candy Draksler playing the guitar and singing the verses. Each time I have heard the song over the years since, I am reminded of sitting there in church with tears running down my cheeks as those beautiful voices sang so angelically. I will never forget it. Never.
Oh, Jesus, you hold the key that will unlock my constricted heart. It gives me great hope that Mary said yes to you and your plan. She was filled with the Spirit and put aside her own doubts.
I know you are ready to answer my prayers, ease my doubts and calm my fears. Sometimes I don’t hear your messengers because they aren’t what I expect. They aren’t wearing wings or halos but are the people standing in front of me.
How many times have I not listened? How often have I balked at your messages and your messengers?
Fill me with the light of your Spirit and enter, in all your glory into my life. Let me rejoice!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel
Amen.
Family ties: Priest, parishioners share special bond
By Elizabeth Lowe
elowe@CatholicReview.org
Twitter: @ReviewLowe
Little did Dennis Robinson Jr. know that when he became a sacristan at St. Michael the Archangel in 1989 that the relationship he formed with Monsignor Thomas J. Tewes would blossom.
Within a few years Monsignor Tewes, pastor of the Overlea parish from 1984 to 1992, became a part of the Robinson family, which included the two parents and five children. The family has nearly tripled in size and now includes spouses, a fiancé and eight grandchildren.
“It’s hard to pinpoint why it (the relationship) developed,” said Dennis Robinson Sr., 61, who worships at St. Michael with wife, Barbara. “We just hit it off.”
Monsignor Tewes has become a fixture over the past two decades, as the Robinsons and the 79-year-old priest have traveled, spent holidays and enjoyed hundreds of meals together.
“It has been a good relationship and a great friendship, one that has endured,” Monsignor Tewes said. “I’ve become a part of the family.”
As the family has grown and spread out, Sunday dinners at the Robinson’s Overlea home are less frequent, but rousing games of Trivial Pursuit live on in the collective memory.
“We were famous for being partners,” Robert Robinson, 32, one of the five siblings, said of he and Monsignor Tewes teaming in the popular game. “It was never a doubt we were going to be partners.”
On Wednesday evenings in the 1990s, Monsignor Tewes stopped by the Robinson home to watch “Law and Order.” For the past 20 years, the Robinsons have vacationed with Monsignor Tewes at his beach house in Fenwick Island, Del.
“He’s been very generous with that,” Dennis Sr. said. “It’s a standing invitation.”
Monsignor Tewes taught the five siblings to water ski.
“I had a boat and I would take the kids water skiing all the time,” said Monsignor Tewes, who has vacationed with the family at Deep Creek Lake.
On one trip to the Western Maryland resort, Monsignor Tewes and Robert jumped on an inflatable raft and traveled across the lake.
“I don’t know what possessed us to do it, but we did,” said Robert, director of marketing and communications at Loyola Blakefield in Towson. “We got to the other side – finally. We did it for no reason. We turned around and went back. We still joke about it.”
In April, Dennis Jr. and Robert took Monsignor Tewes, an avid golfer, to the Masters in Augusta, Ga.
“It was a ‘bucket list’ item, so to speak, for him,” Robert said.
Most holidays include Monsignor Tewes, who said, “I stop here every Christmas.”
He is there for the family in good times and sad, as he administered last rites to Dennis Sr.’s mother in May 2012.
“He has been there through everything – the marriages, the baptisms, the funerals,” said Dennis Jr., 38, a parishioner of St. Stephen in Bradshaw. “When you look at the family dinners, the birthday parties … He was at my house for Thanksgiving, he comes for the Super Bowl, he is one of us.”
In turn, the family supports Monsignor Tewes.
When he has moved, most recently to Perry Hall, the Robinson siblings have helped. In June, the family attended his 50th jubilee at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.
While technically retired, Monsignor Tewes, who pastored at three other parishes, celebrates Mass at St. Michael; St. Mark in Fallston; Church of the Annunciation in Rosedale; Oak Crest Retirement Community in Parkville; and at parishes on the Eastern Shore.
“He is everybody’s priest,” Dennis Sr. said. “He happens to be a priest and our friend at the same time.”
Parishes invited to host Cemetery of the Innocents
The coverage of our Cemetery of the Innocents Memorial at Our Lady, Queen of Peace Parish in Middle River in the Names & Numbers section (CR, Nov. 21) omitted some very important information. Mention should have been made that the project is unique because it is the first such installation in the Baltimore area.
Also left out was the hope that other parishes would consider having the memorial on their grounds in the future. The best location is a large lawn area facing a busy thoroughfare. To arrange to have the Cemetery of the Innocents Memorial at your parish, call Jim McFillin at 240-577-2258.
Jim Dickinson
Essex
Inside Sports: DeSales runners thrive in any environment
By Paul McMullen
pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org
ESSEX – Join the indoor track and field team, and improve your GPA.
That recruiting pitch doesn’t pack the same punch as “Join the Navy and see the world,” but there appears to be a positive correlation between improving classroom performance and times, heights and distances for the girls who stock the running programs at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville.
“Our (academic) top 10 usually has a good number of athletes, and it’s not unusual for them to come from track and field or cross country,” said Gene Williams, who retired earlier this year as the Sailors’ athletic director but remains as co-coach of their indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
Watch a video:
Exhibit A is Jessica Harris, who is not just nationally ranked in the 800 meters, but a National Merit Scholarship finalist.
At an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland indoor meet at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County Dec. 7, Harris helped de Sales set a fieldhouse record for high schools in the 4×800 relay and won the 1,600 and the high jump with a personal best of 4 feet, 8 inches – in between reviewing notes on the Federalist Papers for an upcoming exam in American Government.
Clare Basil brought study materials for physics and Spanish. Katrina Hrabinski, a fellow junior, packed a book for her AP language class.
“We study more at the league meets,” Harris pointed out. “They’re on Friday nights, six hours long.”
The Dec. 7 meet included 13 schools and scores of open textbooks, as the Sailors weren’t the only ones to turn downtime between events into study hall on a day that saw them board a bus at 8 a.m., and return to campus at 3:15 p.m.
Basil, who was home-schooled before entering de Sales as a sophomore, notes that fun and games are involved, too.
“Last year a couple of senior girls told me, ‘you can only work so hard,’ so sometimes we’ll play a game, like Apples to Apples,” said Basil, who credits practice with helping her schoolwork. “I’m not restless when I get home from practice. That outlet helps me relax after a long school day and focus on my homework.”
Those workouts bolster not just the body, but the intellect and soul. The other half of a grandfatherly coaching staff is Steve Weber, an affiliate professor in the philosophy department at Loyola University Maryland and neighbor of Williams who is as likely to discuss Aristotle and St. Augustine with the Sailors as he is stride length and split times.
“We have a Catholic spin each year,” said Harris, of a practice begun under Nashville Dominican Sister Amelia Hueller, the former athletic department chaplain who prayed with teams. “Cross country (and all of 2013-14) was ‘agony’; we related that to Jesus’s walk (with the cross). … Last (year) was ‘wholehearted’; you have to run with your whole heart.”
Those themes endure.
Last spring in Philadelphia, at the Penn Relays, the world’s largest annual meet, Basil, Harris and Hrabinski teamed with senior Anastasia White to finish 24th in the 4×800, in a school record 9 minutes, 30.79 records. Now at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, White was one of the last three competing, and the final female, in the “plank” test for Plebes.
De Sales displayed similar fitness and toughness Dec. 14 at the Howard County Winterfest at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, where Hrabinskil (1200), Cecilia Craig (400), Caroline Arnold (800) and Harris (1600) set a meet record, 12:55.74, in the distance medley relay. That was on a fast 200-meter track, where spikes are allowed, another reminder of the resilience honed in the Sailors.
While most of the competition has a 400-meter track on campus, it wasn’t until 2012 that de Sales could even set up cones for a 200 oval, and then on its new artificial turf field. While its field event people get occasional access to the Catonsville campus of CCBC or Mount St. Joseph High School, because of the snow that hit the region Dec. 9 and 10, most of the Sailors’ track workouts that week were conducted on a parking lot.
“It might be called indoor track and field,” Williams said, “but unless it’s really terrible, all of our workouts are outside.
Monsignor Slade Catholic School community rallies around student, family
By Elizabeth Lowe
elowe@CatholicReview.org
Twitter: @ReviewLowe
GLEN BURNIE – Emily Kolenda lights up a room with a smile that makes her eyes twinkle.
The Monsignor Slade Catholic School community has rallied around Emily, a fourth-grader at the school, who was diagnosed in January 2012 with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, an autoimmune disorder.
Most recently hospitalized Dec. 15, Emily received special visitors, as members of the Monsignor Slade community visited and sang carols in an effort to bring her some Christmas cheer.
That outreach is nothing new.
To help defray the 11-year-old’s medical bills, which include chemotherapy in addition to frequent hospital stays, Monsignor Slade has organized fundraisers, including events last month in Sparrows Point and Glen Burnie.
Emily attended the events, which raised several thousand dollars, and said, “It makes me feel like everyone is supporting me.”
In addition, Monsignor Slade students continue to make and sell for $3 apiece Rainbow Loom bracelets, made from small, blue, pink and purple rubber bands, Emily’s favorite colors.
A Catonsville bakery donated a portion of the sales from its Thanksgiving pies to the family, said Kelly Kolenda, Emily’s mother and full-time caregiver.
“I don’t know what people do without family and friends,” Kelly said. “We’ve needed our family and our friends to support us through this.”
At Monsignor Slade, that support system helps transport Emily’s sisters, Megan, 9, and Colleen, 7, to and from the Glen Burnie school.
When she feels well, Emily, like her peers, enjoys playing in the snow, shopping, drawing and making Rainbow Loom bracelets. Her favorite subject is reading.
“She loves Slade and she loves her friends and teachers,” said Kelly, whose family worships at St. Mark in Catonsville. “If she feels well enough to go to school, she’s at school.”
“She has a great spirit,” said Casey Buckstaff, the school’s principal, who was among the carolers visiting Emily in the hospital Dec. 15. “She tries so hard and works so hard. She wants to be here (in school) and when she’s here she doesn’t waste a moment.”
Ashley Stegeman, a fourth-grade teacher at Monsignor Slade who has Emily for homeroom, social studies and science, is inspired by her student.
“It doesn’t seem like anything ever knocks her down,” Stegeman said. “She brightens up the room when she enters it.”
7 Quick Takes Friday (A go-to Christmas gift, Clone Trooper birthday parties, a surprise holiday guest, and more)
— 1 —
I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping, and I think that’s because I never officially started. Most years John and I sit down and make a list of everyone we need gifts for, and then we work from that. This year we never did that. We have Rubbermaid tubs in the basement, and whenever I buy something I toss it into a tub.
If this were an effective method, I wouldn’t be wondering how many more days I can enjoy free two-day shipping. And I certainly wouldn’t be snatching up gift cards for my son’s teachers at the local pharmacy.
The good news? I’m not stressed. I’m not worried at all. I have a new perspective this year, and I realize that it really doesn’t matter. Our loved ones will get gifts. The ones who don’t get them on time will understand. Christmas will come whether or not we’re ready, and since we are just getting around to putting up the tree now, we’ll still be enjoying it for St. Patrick’s Day.
— 2 —
If you haven’t done your shopping yet, and you don’t know what to give, here’s your solution: stomp rockets.
They’re great for children of any age (well, maybe 3 and older), teens, college students, parents, and grandparents.
They require little assembly, no batteries, and they are relatively inexpensive.
If a stomp rocket won’t work, then go for a scoop collander or cookie sheets. That should take care of everyone.
Aren’t you glad you hadn’t started shopping?
— 3 —
We threw a Clone Trooper birthday party for Daniel last weekend. Did I mention that he was turning 4? Now he thinks every day is his birthday, and he has this adorable way of saying, “Well, it is my birthday,” when I suggest that perhaps something might not go his way.
I have to admit that I thought this Clone Trooper theme would be hard to pull off, but we found cardboard masks for all the guests, Clone Trooper plastic rings for the cupcakes, and a good friend—Daniel’s hero—sent him a Clone Trooper figure that is just a little shorter than Daniel is. The figure was such a hit at the party.
Afterward, though, he was rather protective of the cupcakes.
“You didn’t want that last cupcake, did you?”
— 4 —
’Tis the season for Christmas crafts at school, and Leo’s class made gingerbread houses the other day.
I love this photo of him with his house, and so does he.
— 5 —
The week we moved into our house back in October, Leo was chosen to be the “Cool Cat” in his classroom, and he brought home the class’s stuffed cat, Ginger. It was so exciting to have Ginger in our home for a week, and we managed to keep track of her in all the excitement of the move.
Well, Ginger is back—and this time she’s staying until next year.
We have her for this week and next, which includes Christmas, and the week after, which includes New Year’s Eve and Day, and then she’ll go back to school on Jan. 6.
Whew. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. We’ll happily document her stay with us, of course, though Leo tells me that Ginger is expecting something from Santa. I certainly hope she sent her letter to the North Pole.
— 6 —
Speaking of the North Pole, when I picked Daniel up from the school the night after we saw a reindeer walking down our street, his teacher—who had not heard the story—pulled me aside.
“Santa must have whispered in his ear last night!” she said. “He was such a good listener today and so helpful!”
Maybe we all need more reindeer in our lives.
— 7 —
At Mass on Sunday, Daniel was watching the priest put the Eucharist in the tabernacle and clear the altar when he said, “Why is the priest the luckiest of everyone?”
“Why do you think the priest is lucky?” I asked.
“He gets to drink the wine,” he said.
Daniel desperately wants to taste the bread and wine, which he knows are Jesus, but mostly he just can’t believe he’s not big enough to do something. As I was carrying him back from receiving Communion, he was watching me closely.
“Is it good?” he asked.
“It’s the best,” I whispered.
No wonder he thinks the priest is the luckiest. And maybe he’s right.
Countdown to Christmas: Six days left: Last day of exams, Christmas Eve Mass at John Carroll, family fun, dogs react to holiday hurries, today’s O Antiphon, and more classic Christmas hymns
Seniors Travis and Lindsey strike a fun pose with Pope Francis by the John Carroll Campus Ministry Office after their exams.
Introduction:
In the last Advent days leading up to Christmas, I will share some reflections, prayers, and music for you to enjoy during this very hectic holiday season.
Excitement in the air:
The level of excitement is building here at John Carroll as our students are finishing their last two exams this morning: Christmas Break begins at 11:30 a.m. Our students have been through a lot in recent weeks with the sad loss of one of our beloved juniors. Time off for rest and renewal with family and friends is definitely in order!!
I spent some quiet time this morning during the first exam period getting everything ready for our annual Christmas Eve Mass here in the gym. Candles, ciboria, hosts to be consecrated, vestments… I even remembered all the necessaries for incensing!! (Can you tell that I have sometimes forgotten to unpack those items in the past?)
Christmas Eve Mass at John Carroll:
My John Carroll Campus Ministry Office started hosting the 4:30 Christmas Eve Mass about fourteen years ago as the overflow for the 4 p.m. Masses at nearby St. Margaret and St. Ignatius Churches. (My colleague Father Steve Sutton, who also serves as Associate Pastor at St. Ignatius, Hickory, celebrates this Mass each year.)
The first year we set up our Auditorium which seats almost 700 people. It was completely full with standing room only by 3:45. We had to turn people away at the door!! We made a decision to start at 4 p.m. since everyone was there and in their seats. Why wait until 4:30?
It was clear as more and more people showed up at the front doors to be turned away that day— since we were at full capacity—that we needed to move our liturgy to the gym for the next year. This has worked out so well and we now have plenty of parking and seating for over 1200.
Each year we have a full house. Going to Mass in a gym is definitely not the same as being in a church with all the liturgical adornments of the season. But it is the people there that matter: What has transpired is that most families now come to my school as their Christmas Eve Mass location-of-choice, not as an overflow from a neighboring parish.
We are always delighted to see so many multi-generational John Carroll families here, including lots of our graduates. It has become a bit of a reunion Mass, if you will, for our school community. It is a particular special blessing for me each year to celebrate this first Mass of the Nativity with so many people who have touched my life and my heart over the years.
What are your Christmas Eve plans?
Pope Francis got into the holiday spirit when I wasn’t looking…. How festive is this?
Family fun in the days to come:
Everyone in my family is looking forward to all the festivities during this week leading up to Christmas. We are having our annual family dinner this Sunday with all our children, their spouses and significant others, and my parents. We will relax and enjoy each other’s company with what promises to be a great dinner.
Our almost-seven year old grandson Tyler is so excited for Christmas and Santa. Watching the holidays through the eyes of children is what warms our hearts the most.
We are particularly blessed this year as we anticipate the birth of Meighan and Jeff’s baby girl, due on January 15. Baby McKenna is a loved and cherished member of our family already. I know there are a few gifts under the tree with her name on them too!!
Daisy gets crazy:
How is your dog holding up with all the holiday preparations? I have heard some crazy stories over the years about dogs tearing into the wrapped presents and diving into the holiday cookies and candies when no one is looking.
When Daisy, our seven-year old pug, was a puppy she loved to crawl under the Christmas tree and nap on the tree skirt. It was so adorable. She outgrew the space under the tree and she doesn’t bother the gifts. But what Daisy definitely does not like is the commotion outside caused by the frequent stops on our cul-de-sac by the mailman, and the UPS and Fed-Ex trucks. It makes her crazy!!
Daisy likes the quiet, usually snoring nearby while my husband works from his home office. But when those trucks make their way down our court, watch out: Daisy is up and staring out the window, barking and letting us know that someone is disturbing her tranquility. What happened to the peace and quiet?
Today’s “O Antiphon”
“O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!”
—Today’s Antiphon for December 19
Music for your Enjoyment:
“Angels We Have Heard on High” (w/ 32 fingers and 8 thumbs) Performed by the Piano Guys: Paul Anderson, Jon Schmidt, Al van der Beek & Steven Sharp Nelson, with numerous appearances by their Elf-on-the-Shelf Simone.
With almost 6 million hits on Youtube, this classic hymn is delightfully arranged and set in a beautifully decorated set complete with gift-wrapped grand piano and train garden with mini-cams.
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“What Child is This?” by violinist, composer, and dancer Lindsey Stirling.
Highlighting another classic performance with almost 5 million hits on Youtube, this talented young woman plays and dances to this favorite hymn outdoors in the snow.
Oh, Jesus who descended from Jesse, you are a sign of God’s love. I feel hopeful and expectant, filled with a rebirth of joy and love.
I depend you so much. You are a rock for my belief and a sign of God’s love.
Fill me with your praise! I want to sing your glory, filled with joy for the message of hope you send.
I don’t always understand when you are acting on my behalf. Thank you for the message of hope you send me. Give me true faith and love as I celebrate the mystery of how you came to be with us.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel
Amen.
‘And many will rejoice at his birth’
By Archbishop William E. Lori
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord next week, let us pause to reflect on the blessings of the past year and to give thanks to God for his abundant love for us.
For our church, the gift of Pope Francis and his ministry, which has been marked by his pastoral care for all God’s children, has been a special blessing this past year. Through the kindness of his words and the goodness of his actions, he has prompted people throughout the world to reflect on our relationship with the person of Christ and to ask the question, “How well do we know Jesus?”
This question is an especially timely one to ask at Christmas and certainly one that people have pondered since the time of his life on earth.
In olden times, some imagined that the Messiah would come as mighty conqueror. They came to expect a savior of great majesty and power, an earthly ruler, a military hero, a powerful judge, a political force like no other. Instead, the Messiah slipped into the world as a helpless baby, born in the poverty of a stable, asleep in a manger, as his mother Mary and his foster-father Joseph kept watch. Yes, the heavens sang his praises and those whose minds and hearts were prepared understood that the time of God’s visitation had arrived. But most of the world did not notice the birth of the Messiah who would stand before Pontius Pilate and say, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
“Where is God?” we ask today even as he makes himself so utterly available to us. No, he has come not as a mighty ruler imposing law and order, but rather to evoke from us a response of love, a response Pope Francis has so visibly and personally demonstrated through his special care and devotion to the least of God’s children. That response is why the Father sent his only-begotten Son into the world.
The name of the baby in the manager is “Emmanuel” – “God with us!” Nothing breaks down fear and evokes so much love as a baby. Nothing brings us together like our children whom we love so much and in whom we place so many of our hopes. So this is how God is with us: he became one of us, he became a child. And even though the birth of Jesus took place more than 2,000 years ago, we still say each Christmas that he was born “this day” in Bethlehem – for the birth of the Son of God as a baby permeates human history and must permeate our lives as well.
And the child born in Bethlehem still comes to us today: in the truth, the love, the smallness of the Eucharist, every Sunday, every day; in the whispering voice of the Holy Spirit when we read and pray the Scriptures; he is with us in the heart of our homes, in our love for our families, in our relationships with others, in our daily decisions. He is with us even when we become estranged from our God and from one another; he is calling us from within with the persistence of a lover. Emmanuel – God is with us in all these things. He created us in freedom so that we could freely love his Father and one another, and so he does not stay the hand of those who choose to do otherwise.
As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, recently said so beautifully: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, joy is constantly born anew.”
May we allow the child in the manger to open our hearts to that love which is above every other love, to that love which is stronger than sin and more powerful than death. May all in this local church have a blessed and merry Christmas. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
To read more columns by Archbishop Lori, click here.
Frederick County and west overlooked
Elizabeth Lowe’s suggestions on ways to give back this holiday season (Review in the Pew, Dec. 15) are good but show a bit of parochialism, as the archdiocese extends beyond the boundaries of Baltimore.
What about the communities in Frederick County? Why not add the charity groups that serve more than just Baltimore area, such as the ones in Frederick County?
Why not include the Seton Center in Emmitsburg, the Religious Coalition of Frederick County, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the other wonderful charities serving the faithful in the western reaches of the Archdiocese of Baltimore?
Rosemary McDermott
Rocky Ridge
Ellicott City parish celebrates long history
By George P. Matysek Jr.
gmatysek@CatholicReview.org
Almost exactly 175 years after the first Mass was celebrated at St. Paul in Ellicott City, parishioners gathered Dec. 15 to mark the special anniversary in the same prayerful way.
Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski celebrated a special 11:30 a.m. anniversary Mass, which was followed by a reception and the unveiling of artwork that traces the faith community’s long history.
Jerry Harlowe, parish historian, noted that a 150-year-old painting of Bernard U. Campbell, one of the founding parishioners (possibly the founding parishioner), was displayed during the Mass. The oil painting was donated to St. Paul by family members in Connecticut.
Here are some highlights from an official history of the parish:
* Dedicated on Dec. 13, 1838, St. Paul was the only Catholic Church between Baltimore and Frederick at the time.
* St. Paul was built on land acquired from George Ellicott, an early settler in the region.
* During the Civil War, the basement of the church served as a hospital for both Union and Confederate soldiers.
* A parish school opened in 1922. Today, it operates as an inter-parish school known as Resurrection-St. Paul School.
* The Center for the New Evangelization opened in 2011. It features a “green roof” and is meant to serve as a center for the faith formation of young and old alike.
