Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
30 December 2021
'Let your face shed its light upon us.' Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God, Years ABC
Adoration of the Shepherds
Jacopo Bassano [Web Gallery of Art]
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
This is a Holyday of Obligation in the Philippines, the USA and some other countries.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 2:16-21 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
The Shepherds went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And
when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning
this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary
treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them.
And at the end of eight
days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the
angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The above is a setting of the alternative Entrance Antiphon in Latin for today's Mass, also used for the Mass at Dawn on Christmas Day.
Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon
Cf Isaiah 9:1,5; Luke 1:33
Lux fulgebit hodie super nos, quia natus est nobis Dominus; et vocabitur admirabilis, Deus, Princeps pacis, Pater futuri saeculi: cuius regni non erit finis.
Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and he will be called wondrous God, Prince of peace, Father of future ages: and his reign will be without end.
Jacopo Bassano's painting Adoration of the Shepherds captures beautifully the opening words of the Entrance Antiphon: Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us. Light is breaking through from the heavens at the top but the much greater light at the bottom is radiating from the Child in the manger, lighting up the face of Mary and, behind her, that of St Joseph, and those of the shepherds in awe of what they are seeing: glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Even the donkey and one of the shepherds' dogs in the bottom right-hand corner seem to have some sense of the wonder of the occasion.
Caravaggio's light in his painting of the same scene below is much more subdued but so deeply touching.
The First Reading (Numbers 6:22-27) emphasises this: The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be
gracious to you;the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you and give you peace.
The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 66 [67]) in turn reinforces the theme of the light of love shining from the face of God: God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us.
The Preface of the Mass, addressed to the Father, draws our attention once again to the theme of the Light that has come into the world: For by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit she conceived your Only Begotten Son, and without losing the glory of virginity, brought forth into the world the eternal Light, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Communion Antiphon reminds us that the Light that has come into the world in Bethlehem never goes out: Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and for ever (Hebrews 13:8).
The Prologue to St John's Gospel, read at the Mass During the Day on Christmas Day and at the Mass on the last day of the year, speaks of the same Light: In him was life, and the
life was the light of men.The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it. There was a
man sent from God, whose name was John.He came as a witness, to bear witness about the
light, that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but came to bear
witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world (John 1:4-9). This gospel used to be read at the end of every Mass, known as 'The Last Gospel'. It still is when the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated.
We need to focus on the reality that the Word of God, the Light of life, Jesus Christ, God-made-Man, is living among us and has conquered the darkness through his death and resurrection. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Three years ago on this very day, The Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God, here in the Republic of Ireland abortion on demand up to twelve weeks came into law. This, for me, was the day of greatest darkness in our whole history. Yet the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Despite the fact that in the whole Christmas Season, which ends this New Year on Sunday 9 January, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are celebrating the Light coming into the world, there are hints of the darkness that still lingers. We have the Feast of the Holy Innocents on 28 December where the infant boys in Bethlehem were slaughtered. This is echoed in the gospel for the Epiphany. We saw the pain of Mary and Joseph in last Sunday's gospel when they could not find the 12-year-old Jesus after their pilgrimage to the Temple.
The 16th-century (or earlier) English song, the Coventry Carol, according to the Wikipedia entry, takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children. And the martyrdom of the young boys in Bethlehem continues to inspire such ministries as Rachel's Vineyard (in Ireland here), which reaches out to women and men [who] have been wounded by abortion. On Rachel's Vineyard retreat weekends participants truly experience the healing truth that the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Coventry Carol
Sung by Anúna, arranged by Michael McGlynn
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
I do not know if any readers looked at this addition to Sunday Reflections before. But I am resuming it out of a sense of solidarity with priest-friends and others who are deeply hurt, discouraged and disillusioned by recent restrictive and petty legislation in the Church about the celebration of the Mass that nourished my faith as I was growing up and during my seminary years and the faith of countless generations of our ancestors and the many who died as martyrs for celebrating it or enabling it to be celebrated.
Octave-Day of the Nativity
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 01-01-2022 if necessary).
Dearest Fr. Séan, What a lovely post, almost a glimpse of heaven with those paintings an also the singing of: The Coventry Carol is enchanting. Nothing nowadays does come close to that. Those painters and composers, no doubt were guided by the Almighty due to their deep belief. So you lived in the Philippines for quite a while. Both of us have worked and lived in Indonesia, so we can feel what your life has been like. Felt privileged for being able to sing in our chancel choir (not our Church but that of friends where I joined due to the lack of anything like that at our Catholic Church...) Händel's Messiah: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2021/12/nothing-is-more-heavenly-than-handels.html Wishing you a Happy New Year! Hugs, Mariette
PS under labels 'Our Life in Indonesia' or 'Leprosy Project' and 'Heeroom' you learn more... at the very bottom of my humble blog.
Indeed, Mariette, the great painters, sculptors, composers and other artists surely express something of the beauty of God and can draw us closer to Jesus Christ. I've been looking at your blog and see that you are connected with the Rotary Club in Dublin, Georgia. I'm from the 'Original and Real' Dublin!
You spoke about Father Damien of Molokai in one of your videos. I first learned about him in kindergarten in Dublin back in the late 1940s. Some years ago I met a young relative of his from Belgium who was working as a lay missionary in Manila. I also had some involvement with the Deaf in the Philippines, though I never became fluent in Sign Language.
May God bless you and your husband and the work you are doing.
Dearest Fr. Seán, Yes, it is for sure a slice of heaven and we feel privileged for having seen several of those slices. Yes, we are transplants from the deep south of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, living in the deep south of the USA. Both of us have been all around the 'real' Dublin and Ireland for that matter. My husband wrote the Mushroom Bible; not in any way competing with you though! But we did give seminars in the 90s and that's how we traveled all over. Well, the deaf in Indonesia got taught by the Dutch and they opt not for sign language as by doing that, you single them out from society. They then can ONLY communicate with someone who manages sign language. Reading lips and teaching them how to talk by vibration, placing their index and middle finger on the throat of their teacher in front of a mirror. That's how they feel and also they can mimic the movement of the lips. Most managed real well and it is a great way for not singling them out from others in society. Thanks for your visit! Hugs, Mariette
PS Hugs are freely given here in Dublin in the South... so I learned to pass them on also virtually. People need them more than ever!
5 comments:
Dearest Fr. Séan,
What a lovely post, almost a glimpse of heaven with those paintings an also the singing of: The Coventry Carol is enchanting.
Nothing nowadays does come close to that.
Those painters and composers, no doubt were guided by the Almighty due to their deep belief.
So you lived in the Philippines for quite a while.
Both of us have worked and lived in Indonesia, so we can feel what your life has been like.
Felt privileged for being able to sing in our chancel choir (not our Church but that of friends where I joined due to the lack of anything like that at our Catholic Church...) Händel's Messiah: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2021/12/nothing-is-more-heavenly-than-handels.html
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Hugs,
Mariette
PS under labels 'Our Life in Indonesia' or 'Leprosy Project' and 'Heeroom' you learn more... at the very bottom of my humble blog.
Dear Father Sean,
Wishing you a very Happy and Blessed New Year!
Love and God bless always,
Mabel Sean Therese Maria Isabel and Beatrice
Indeed, Mariette, the great painters, sculptors, composers and other artists surely express something of the beauty of God and can draw us closer to Jesus Christ. I've been looking at your blog and see that you are connected with the Rotary Club in Dublin, Georgia. I'm from the 'Original and Real' Dublin!
You spoke about Father Damien of Molokai in one of your videos. I first learned about him in kindergarten in Dublin back in the late 1940s. Some years ago I met a young relative of his from Belgium who was working as a lay missionary in Manila. I also had some involvement with the Deaf in the Philippines, though I never became fluent in Sign Language.
May God bless you and your husband and the work you are doing.
Thank you, Mabel and Sean, for your New Year's greetings. May God bless you along with your daughters in a very special way this year of 2022.
Dearest Fr. Seán,
Yes, it is for sure a slice of heaven and we feel privileged for having seen several of those slices.
Yes, we are transplants from the deep south of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, living in the deep south of the USA. Both of us have been all around the 'real' Dublin and Ireland for that matter. My husband wrote the Mushroom Bible; not in any way competing with you though!
But we did give seminars in the 90s and that's how we traveled all over.
Well, the deaf in Indonesia got taught by the Dutch and they opt not for sign language as by doing that, you single them out from society. They then can ONLY communicate with someone who manages sign language.
Reading lips and teaching them how to talk by vibration, placing their index and middle finger on the throat of their teacher in front of a mirror. That's how they feel and also they can mimic the movement of the lips. Most managed real well and it is a great way for not singling them out from others in society.
Thanks for your visit!
Hugs,
Mariette
PS Hugs are freely given here in Dublin in the South... so I learned to pass them on also virtually. People need them more than ever!
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