Octave of Christmas: The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
January 1st, 2006
Today we continue the celebration of the Christmas season as we mark the eighth day since the birth of the Lord. We are told that the shepards find Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus at the manger. These shepards, become true evangelizers, making known the message of Jesus' birth. Let this celebration inspire us to share the good news of Christ's birth with all we meet.
With the coming of the Lord Jesus, God has blessed the earth with the greatest gift:
THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Just as Mary reflects on the events surrounding Jesus's birth, so, too, do we ponder the many blessings God has showered on us. As the Scriptures are proclaimed, let us pray that this new year will see ever-new blessings of peace poured out on our weary world.
The Christmas Offering will be posted for the next bulletin.
Minding Our Own Business
"This world would be a much better place if everybody would just mind their own business," they said.
On the street I saw a small girl, cold and shivering, in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God, "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?" For a while God said nothing. That night he replied quite suddenly, "I certainly did something about it. I made you."
(Source unknown)
New Year's Blessing Prayer
For Clocks and Calendars
Lord, You who live outside of time,
and reside in the imperishable moment,
we ask Your Blessing this New Year's day
upon Your gift to us of time.
Bless our clocks and watches,
You who kindly direct us
to observe the passing of minutes and hours.
May they make us aware of the miracle
of each second of life we experience.
May these our ticking servants
help us not to miss that which is important.
while You keep us from machine-like routine.
May we ever be free from being clock watchers
and instead become time lovers.
Bless our calendars,
these ordered lists of days, weeks and months,
of holidays, holydays, fasts, and feasts--
all our special days of remembering.
May these servants, our calendars,
once reserved for the royal few,
for Magi and pyramid priests,
now grace our homes and our lives.
May they remind us of birthdays and other gift-days,
as they teach us the secret
that all life
is meant for celebration
and contemplation.
Bless, Lord, this New Year,
each of its 365 days and nights.
Bless us with full moons and new moons.
Bless us with happy seasons and a long life.
Grant to us, Lord,
the New Year's gift
of a year of love.
Amen
Rev. Ed Hays,("Prayers for the Domestic Church")
OUR COMMUNITY
Each parish is a FAMILY. Our Lord calls each of us into this community of Faith and Love. Just as our family at home experiences stages and particular needs, so does our faith community. We rejoice and struggle through every time and season. In the parish setting, our community gathers to celebrate the living presence of the Lord who is made present through the Mass and the Sacraments. We also celebrate through the proclamation of the Word and through one another, especially when we reach out in love for our sisters and brothers.
Since we look to the future we give special attention to our children and young people. In a confusing world, we endeavor to give them the example of our own faith and love for Christ. Stewardship of Christ's Body, the Church says "I love you" to the Lord and to each of the members of our community. Stewardship is symbolic of our compassion, a way of "pouring oil and wine" upon the sick, the suffering, and those who simply need to hear the Word of God and experience the beauty of Christ's love.
A reminder of our responsible Stewardship is that our gift to be proportionate to our income and, therefore, a sacrificial gift to the Lord. Thanks for your continued and proportionate gift giving.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The server for http://saintxaviers.com is having some problems of late, so I am in the process of changing hosting servers. If you would like a peek of my simpler format for the home page, click here. Let me know how you like it. Email the webservant at george@stxavier.net.
Yours In The Service Of Jesus Christ; George McMillin.
Today we continue the celebration of the Christmas season as we mark the eighth day since the birth of the Lord. We are told that the shepards find Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus at the manger. These shepards, become true evangelizers, making known the message of Jesus' birth. Let this celebration inspire us to share the good news of Christ's birth with all we meet.
With the coming of the Lord Jesus, God has blessed the earth with the greatest gift:
THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Just as Mary reflects on the events surrounding Jesus's birth, so, too, do we ponder the many blessings God has showered on us. As the Scriptures are proclaimed, let us pray that this new year will see ever-new blessings of peace poured out on our weary world.
The Christmas Offering will be posted for the next bulletin.
Minding Our Own Business
"This world would be a much better place if everybody would just mind their own business," they said.
On the street I saw a small girl, cold and shivering, in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God, "Why did you permit this? Why don't you do something about it?" For a while God said nothing. That night he replied quite suddenly, "I certainly did something about it. I made you."
(Source unknown)
New Year's Blessing Prayer
For Clocks and Calendars
Lord, You who live outside of time,
and reside in the imperishable moment,
we ask Your Blessing this New Year's day
upon Your gift to us of time.
Bless our clocks and watches,
You who kindly direct us
to observe the passing of minutes and hours.
May they make us aware of the miracle
of each second of life we experience.
May these our ticking servants
help us not to miss that which is important.
while You keep us from machine-like routine.
May we ever be free from being clock watchers
and instead become time lovers.
Bless our calendars,
these ordered lists of days, weeks and months,
of holidays, holydays, fasts, and feasts--
all our special days of remembering.
May these servants, our calendars,
once reserved for the royal few,
for Magi and pyramid priests,
now grace our homes and our lives.
May they remind us of birthdays and other gift-days,
as they teach us the secret
that all life
is meant for celebration
and contemplation.
Bless, Lord, this New Year,
each of its 365 days and nights.
Bless us with full moons and new moons.
Bless us with happy seasons and a long life.
Grant to us, Lord,
the New Year's gift
of a year of love.
Amen
Rev. Ed Hays,("Prayers for the Domestic Church")
OUR COMMUNITY
Each parish is a FAMILY. Our Lord calls each of us into this community of Faith and Love. Just as our family at home experiences stages and particular needs, so does our faith community. We rejoice and struggle through every time and season. In the parish setting, our community gathers to celebrate the living presence of the Lord who is made present through the Mass and the Sacraments. We also celebrate through the proclamation of the Word and through one another, especially when we reach out in love for our sisters and brothers.
Since we look to the future we give special attention to our children and young people. In a confusing world, we endeavor to give them the example of our own faith and love for Christ. Stewardship of Christ's Body, the Church says "I love you" to the Lord and to each of the members of our community. Stewardship is symbolic of our compassion, a way of "pouring oil and wine" upon the sick, the suffering, and those who simply need to hear the Word of God and experience the beauty of Christ's love.
A reminder of our responsible Stewardship is that our gift to be proportionate to our income and, therefore, a sacrificial gift to the Lord. Thanks for your continued and proportionate gift giving.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The server for http://saintxaviers.com is having some problems of late, so I am in the process of changing hosting servers. If you would like a peek of my simpler format for the home page, click here. Let me know how you like it. Email the webservant at george@stxavier.net.
Yours In The Service Of Jesus Christ; George McMillin.
posted by George | 6:40 PM
