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#12thandMass
Wise Guys December 28, 2021 This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany (transferred from January 6). As many of you know, “epiphany” means manifestation. We celebrate God incarnate, the Word made flesh, made manifest to the Gentiles (“ones who are not Jews”, i.e., those outside Jesus’ community) in the persons of the mysterious Magi. The Magi come reading a star, indicating the birth of a king. They come moved, however, by more than their astrology. It seems that they are given faith. God indeed freely bestows His gifts. Faith enables us to discern mystery from above. Thanks to faith, to the Magi Christ is made known. St. John Chrysostom commented on this gospel of the Magi. Saint John was born in the ancient Greek city of Antioch, died in 407, called “golden-mouthed” (Chrysostomos) to underscore his celebrated eloquence, eventually became Archbishop of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1568, enjoys veneration in the Orthodox (with four separate feast days!), Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican Churches. He tells us that If the Magi had come in search of an earthly king, they would have been disconcerted at finding that they had taken the trouble to come such a long way for nothing. Consequently, they would have neither adored nor offered gifts.But since they sought a heavenly King,though they found Him in no signs of royal pre-eminence, yet, content with the testimony of a star alone, they adored. “Our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us” as well. (Isaiah 60:1)Let us rejoice! Yours in Christ, Dominique+ seeker-with-you
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#12thandMass
December 14, 2021 This Sunday is the fourth and final of Advent. We will be invited to revisit, in faith, the mystery of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. There is more than meets the eye in this encounter. St. Ambrose (+397), Doctor of the Church (a sure guide and companion on our faith journey), traditionally credited with composing the hymn Te Deum, carefully considers this encounter: Elizabeth is the first to hear Mary’s voice, but John is the first to be aware of grace. She hears with the ears of the body, but he leaps for joy at the mystery. She is aware of Mary’s presence, but he is aware of the Lord’s: a woman aware of a woman’s presence, the forerunner aware of the pledge of our salvation. The women speak of the grace they have received while the children are active in secret, unfolding the mystery of love with the help of their mothers, who prophesy by the spirit of their sons. As we approach the Christmas season (Christmas Eve through Epiphany, January 6)! and we are surrounded by the panic of remaining shopping for impossible gifts, and of preparations for holiday entertainment, I invite you to spend some quiet time, close to Mary, asking her to help you, as she does so well, to “treasure all these words and ponder them in your heart” (Luke 2:19), to cherish the presence of the Lord within. In so doing, we purify our hearts and thus prepare for His coming. As the same St. Ambrose so lovingly exhorts, Let Mary’s soul be in each of you to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let her spirit be in each to rejoice in the Lord. Christ has only one mother in the flesh, but we all bring forth Christ in faith. Every soul receives the Word of God if only it remains pure. The soul that succeeds in this proclaims the greatness of the Lord, just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior. I look forward to celebrating Christmas with you. If you will be traveling, I wish you an abundance of blessings. Trust that the Lord will work in and through you—even in the most complex of holiday situations! The Lord be with you. Faithfully in Him, The Rev. Dominique Peridans fellow-traveler #12thandMass
December 7, 2021 Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) This Sunday, we once again encounter John the Baptist. He is apparently an important figure on our path! As I often say, let us recall that the saints are not distant, pious examples. They are first and foremost divine friends, actively journeying with us. John the Baptist prepares the way for an-other: Jesus, the light of the world. So other-centered is he that, when asked his identity in John’s gospel (1:23), he responds, “I am the voice of one crying in the desert.” Try self-identification like that on your Facebook page! Indeed, in John the Baptist, we see the attitude of heart that we are to have if we really want to discover Jesus and how tremendous He is: a sense of our unworthiness. Indeed, at every Mass, we echo the words of the centurion (professional soldier in the Roman army at the time of Jesus), who asks Jesus to heal his servant, “Lord I am not worthy to that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed” (Matt. 8:8). We develop this sense not so much in realizing how imperfect we are, but in realizing how perfect Jesus is, i.e. how unconditional and overflowing is His love. Beyond or deeper than the decorating, shopping, baking and visiting (and the too many “already”-Christmas parties!), such a sense is the right preparation for Christmas. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to awaken this in us. Interior freedom and awe and joy will follow. This is Gaudete Sunday (always the third Sunday of Advent), “rejoice” Sunday. With the eyes of our hearts fixed on our Gracious Lord who gratuitously comes to us in our unworthiness, we are invited to rejoice. Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! (traditional opening words—the Introit—on the Third Sunday of Advent) The Rev. Dominique Peridans Rector |
THE REV. DOMINIQUE PERIDANS
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