Today's feast celebrates the mission that God chose for Mary from all eternity. Mary, The Holy Mother of God

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, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 2:16-21 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)  

At that time: 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.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Adoration of the Shepherds

Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

The alternative Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for this feast reads: 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 cow and 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.

Six 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 darkest day in our whole history. 34,009 children were legally aborted up the end of 2023, the vast majority in the early stages of pregnancy. Yet the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And the Light is the Divine Infant, Jesus, God who became Man

Despite the fact that in the whole Christmas Season, which ends this New Year on Sunday 12 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.

Today's feast celebrates the mission that God chose for Mary from all eternity: to bring his Son Jesus to us and to bring us to Jesus. In the paintings by Bassano, Caravaggio and Rembrandt we see Mary presenting Jesus to the shepherds, presenting Jesus to all of us. She is not drawing attention to herself. And Bassano and Rembrandt show Jesus so clearly to be The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world (John 1:9). That Light, in God's plan, came into the world through Mary and she is, as it were, the lighthouse that guides us to that Light, Son of God and her Son.

Adoration of the Shepherds

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Traditional Latin Mass 

Octave Day of the Nativity, The Circumcision of the Lord

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 01-01-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: Titus 2:11-15.  Gospel: Luke 2:21.

Circumcision of Jesus

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

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 (Luke 2:21; Gospel).

'Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' Sunday Reflections, The Holy Family, Year C

 

The Holy Family

Heinrich Meyring [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 2:41-52 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)  

The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ Among the Doctors

Leonaert Bramer [Web Gallery of Art]

Today is the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On 19 March the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today's gospel refers to Joseph and Mary as the parents of Jesus. Mary says reproachfully to her Son, Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. To the puzzlement of both Mary and Joseph, Jesus replies, Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

St Matthew shows clearly the role of St Joseph in the life of Jesus: an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Joseph's first responsibility was to be the husband of Mary and, as such, was to name her Son, thereby becoming his legal father. In some paintings of the Nativity St Joseph is a background figure, or partly hidden in the dark, but clearly protective of Jesus and Mary, and in an attitude of worship towards the Infant.

The Nativity

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

But in depictions of the Flight into Egypt, of which there are many, we often find St Joseph leading the way, as in this woodcarving. 

The Flight into Egypt

Unknown Flemish Master [Web Gallery of Art]

The Greek-born Doménikos Theotokópoulos, (1541 – 1614) who settled in Toledo, Spain, as a young man was known as 'El Greco', 'The Greek'. In the  painting below he captures the role of St Joseph as a protective parent.

St Joseph and the Christ Child

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

As a child I saw my parents as my father and mother. Now I remember them not only as that but as husband and wife. And sometimes I think that the Church over-emphasises the importance of the family at the expense of marriage, which is the foundation of the family. St Joseph's primary responsibility was to be the husband of Mary and, as such, to be the one known as the father of Jesus, even though Mary's Son wasn't his. 

And in today's gospel Mary painfully discovers that, in a sense, he isn't hers either, as he says, Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? At the beginning of his adolescence Jesus was, in his humanity, coming in touch with his heavenly Father's will. The mystery of Jesus being both God and Man is something we cannot fathom. St Paul says that Jesus though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:6).

But this incident shows us that Mary and Joseph as parents suffered the same pain that every parent of an adolescent goes through. They were learning that they did not 'own' Jesus, that they would have to let him go at some stage.

I recall some incidents involving my father. One was when I was no more than three, possibly only two. Like St Joseph, he was a carpenter and made a little saddle that he put on the crossbar of his bicycle on which he went to work every morning. I recall him taking me for a 'spin', probably on a Saturday afternoon, in the area where we lived at the time, I sitting joyfully on the little wooden saddle he had made. It's like a short video in my mind that captures a moment of sheer delight between father and son.

Then when I was around ten he taught me how to ride a bicycle. I borrowed that of a cousin a little older than me. Dad held the back of the saddle tightly so that I wouldn't lose balance and stayed with me patiently. Then at a certain point I realised that he wasn't holding it anymore and that I was moving forward without falling. He knew when to let go. 

[Source: Coloring-pictures.net]

He taught me how to swim around that same time, with the same approach. He gave me a sense of security - but didn't cling on when I didn't need that kind of security anymore.

And when I was 18 both my parents let me go with their full blessing when I entered St Columban's, Dalgan Park, to become a missionary priest. Their faith was part of the reason I made that decision.

My parents taught me what trust was by trusting me. In Ireland the symbol of adulthood was - and maybe still is, I don't know - the key to the house. I was given the key when I was only 13. None of my friends had that privilege. On one occasion three years later when I came home very late on my bicycle from a dance my parents were waiting at the door sick with worry, as Mary and Joseph were sick with worry when they couldn’t find Jesus. Nobody on our street had a telephone and mobile phones probably weren't even in the imaginations of science-fiction writers then. But all I got was a well-deserved scolding from my parents, standing together, who still trusted me to use my key responsibly.

As I look back now, I see clearly that my parents were husband and wife first, and father and mother second. That did not mean that they saw parenthood as being of lesser importance but that they saw it as being a consequence of being married. I think they had their priorities right.

The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that marriage is the root of the family. Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21).

The Wexford Carol

Featuring Alison Krauss (singer), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Natalie MacMaster (fiddle), Shane Shanahan (percussion) and Cristina Pato (bagpipes).

As far as I know, The Wexford Carol is the only Irish Christmas carol that is widely known and performed internationally. None of the performers in the video are Irish.

Traditional Latin Mass 

Sunday within the Octave of Christmas

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-29-2024 if necessary).

Epistle: Galatians 4:1-7.  Gospel: Luke 2:33-40.

Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel . . . (Luke 2:34; Gospel).

Christmas Day. 'And is it true . . . That God was man in Palestine and lives today in Bread and Wine?'

 

Adoration of the Shepherds

Murillo [Web Gallery of Art]

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:4).

Christmas Day

Gospel of Mass During the Day, John 1:1-18.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 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 for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.’”) And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

Christmas

by Sir John Betjeman, read by Ben W. Smith

No love that in a family dwells, / No carolling in frosty air, / Nor all the steeple-shaking bells / Can with this single Truth compare – / That God was man in Palestine / And lives today in Bread and Wine.

Don Oíche Úd i mBeithil (That Night in Bethlehem)

Recited in English by Burgess Meredith, sung in the original Irish by Kevin Conneff, accompaniment by The Chieftains.

Happy Christmas!

Nollaig Shona!

Malipayong Pasko!

'Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country.' Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday of Advent, Year C

Visitation

Luca della Robbio [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales; Scotland) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 1:39-45 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)  

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

The Visitation

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

I never fail to be moved, delighted and inspired by this 'Dance of Life' between St Elizabeth pregnant with John the Baptist and Mary pregnant with Jesus.

About seventeen years ago I celebrated Mass on the Feast of the Visitation in a home for girls where most come from a background of abuse. One girl of 16, whom I'll call 'Gloria', was pregnant. She was from another part of the Philippines and had been working in a restaurant and said that one of her co-workers was responsible. Gloria was very angry and would not accept the baby she was carrying who was by this time around six months, as I recall. I invited her at the end of the Mass to come forward for a blessing for herself and her child. She agreed. With her permission I placed my hand gently on her stomach, as Elizabeth and Mary do with each other in the painting below, while I prayed. 

Visitation

Rogier van der Weyden [Web Gallery of Art]

'Gloria' told me afterwards that she could feel the baby moving as I blessed them both - and she had a smile on her face. She was able to go home to her own place some time later where she gave birth. Perhaps you could say a prayer for her and for her child, now aged about 17.

Rogier van der Weyden captures the sacredness of the lives of the unborn Jesus and John the Baptist. El Greco captures the swirl of a dance of life, the flowing blue robes suggesting the joy of the two pregnant mothers, Mary and Elizabeth. Luca della Robbia's sculpture shows the sacred intimacy of the moment that Mary and Elizabeth met, each carrying a precious life, Mary's child the Son of God, God-become-Man.

Today's gospel has particular relevance in the context of on-going public debates in a number of countries about abortion, including Ireland and the USA. When I used this material three years ago the Republic of Ireland was about to introduce abortion on demand up to twelve weeks, the new law to come into effect on New Year’s Day 2019, the Solemnity of the Motherhood of Mary. 6,666 legal abortions took place in that year and 6,577 the following year. In 2023  there were 10,033.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  

+++

One of a number of ministries to both women and men who have been directly affected by abortion is Rachel's Vineyard. I have connections with Rachel's Vineyard, Ireland, which has brought its healing retreat to such places as the Faroe Islands, Hungary, South Korea and Lebanon.

Del Verbo Divino

San Juan de la Cruz

Del Verbo divino

la Virgen preñada

viene de camino:

¡ si les dais posada !

Concerning the Divine Word

St John of the Cross

Translation by Roy Campbell

With the divinest Word, the Virgin

Made pregnant, down the road

Comes walking, if you'll grant her

A room in your abode. 

Posada is a Spanish word meaning 'lodging' or 'accommodation' or 'inn'. In many Spanish-speaking countries and communities Las Posadas is a novena in preparation for Christmas. This tradition is a 'cousin' to that in the Philippines known as Simbang Gabi.

Traditional Latin Mass 

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-22-2024 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.  Gospel: Luke 3:1-6.

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight (Luke 3:4; Gospel).