The Circumcision of Our Lord
“Te Deum”
The servers line up with vestments for the bishop, preparing for Midnight Mass
Our grounds, beautifully lit for Midnight Mass.
Bp. Dolan offers a quiet Low Mass, on the feast of St. John.
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Daily Sermons
December 21 – Fr. Lehtoranta – Be Not Incredulous But Faithful
December 22 – Fr. Lehtoranta – The Mission Zeal of St. Frances Cabrini
December 27 – Fr. McGuire – Great St. John
December 28 – Bp. Dolan – The Story of the Innocents
December 29 – Fr. McGuire – A Saint of Little Things
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✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
We had a wonderful Christmas, didn’t we? Fine mild weather, plenty of sun each day, beautiful Masses and a good attendance, even during the Octave. The Noche Buana, or the Night before Christmas was sanctified by holy watching and the Matins and Carols. “Los Simpsones” provided a fine schola for the Divine Office. The choir was at its best. Really, I thought, no choir you’d hear on a CD or the radio would sound any better. And the traditional String Quartet on Christmas morning! How blessed are we to give and receive the gift of beautiful music for the Baby’s birth.
I thought the church decorating went particularly peacefully this year. And so splendid the results. Have you been up to take in the crib? The old “distressed” grillwork stands for the old sinful world the Child was born to save. It is overlaid with ornaments to symbolize the splendor of His birth, and is part of the Child’s throne. But the lambs are the key. They’re all looking at the Lamb. So are the shepherds and dogs (the one cat who made the cut is distracted), and the father and son. We, too, are looking at the Lamb, the Son, as we pray for our own lambs, even the ones who have grown up into wolves.
Our Crashaw poem was entirely vindicated this Christmas, as we had Summer in Winter for a day or two, and then a wintry mix and dusting of snow, but always some sun. Also children. We blessed a rail full for Holy Innocents, and gave them chicken soup and cookies and candy for the party. I read them “Dear Mili” from one of the Grimm brothers, and they were well behaved. But the simple little gifts were the hit of the day. They were delighted with them!
I was proud of our young people Friday (and some older, too, of course!) who gave a day of their Christmas to bury the dead. Barbara Steinmetz died on St. Stephen’s Day, fittingly enough. She used to make vast quantities of fudge and top it off with bags and boxes of all sorts of goodies. She was a Christmas soul, one of those dear old timers. Remember her.
With everything going on, I forgot to provision one of our Christmas parties, “the health of St. John.” We did bless the beverages, however. Nobody seemed to mind too much, though, because we had another party the next day!
Thank you for remembering us with Christmas dinner, and many meals and goodies. Please let us thank you by coming to our Christmas party Friday evening, Epiphany. Our newest priest, Fr. Philip Eldracher of neighboring Michigan, will be our guest of honor; but the party wouldn’t be complete without you. You can get in on a First Friday Mass before, and make a little visit for the All Night Adoration afterwards.
Thank you for a most generous Christmas collection. It will help to pay the many bills, support our apostolate and clergy, bring souls to Christ, and get great glory to God.
Happy, holy and healthy New Year to you!
—Bishop Dolan