I said happy, certainly we wish happiness for ourselves our loved ones and friends, but as we begin a new year, the question is: What will this year be like? What will it bring? An end to COVID, a united country, a stable economy? How about our health, peace, and happiness in our families? As our catholic community of the Archdiocese embarks on the collaboration of Families of Parishes, what will that look like? There is so much unknown, perhaps a bit of fear, pondering the uncertain, it is hard to look to the future with a sense of ease.
On behalf of ALL of us here St. Clare School and Parish I wish you a peaceful, healthy, and Merry Christmas. This may not be what we envisioned our Christmas celebration to be, by that I mean all that “wraps” the main event – coming of Jesus into our lives. The tangible things of this world do matter; beauty can reveal the truth about God becoming flesh. Perhaps this is the best way of “walking” in the shoes of Mary and Joseph or the Three Magi – who could not have imagined the coming of the Messiah “in this way” or the birth of the New King “in this way” in all these surroundings? Mary said Fiat – Yes, Magi brought gifts and came to pay homage. We can learn from this ancient but ever new story: We come to God and welcome Him in the way we are, but also God comes to us and welcomes us the way He is.
Saturday, Dec. 12, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patronesses of the Americas. Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Indian convert to Christianity in December of 1531 as he was on the way to Mass. He was a quiet humble man, a poor peasant. When Our Lady appeared to him she told Juan to ask the Bishop to build a church in her honor. To persuade the reluctant Bishop Our Lady promised to give a sign. When Juan presented his message to the Bishop and the roses from the tilma fell to the ground they revealed the image of Mary on the tilma now enshrined in Mexico City. In this image Mary resembles a young Aztec woman. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is widely revered as a symbol of God’s love for all American natives. Join us for this special Mass at 8 am.
Today we transition to year B in the Sunday lectionary and Week 1 of the weekday cycle. The evangelist for this new year is the Gospel of Mark. As many are using personal prayer books and the Divine Office books at home, be sure to note these changes. Did you know the First Sunday of Advent is the Churches official “New Year’s Day?” Today’s reading from the Gospel suggests a good New Year’s resolution: develop one good habit for keeping alert to God’s saving action.
CLICK ON DETROIT: For months, mass at St. Clare Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park has been different in many ways, but still celebrated weekly. “People have gotten pretty used to things by now,” said parishioner and Leadership Director Bill Harrington. “We socially distance, we wear masks, we use hand sanitizer.” For those who don’t feel comfortable coming to church in person, the Archbishop of Detroit, Rev. Allen Vigneron, extended a blessing. Announced on Friday, the dispensation from the obligation to attend mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation was extended to Ash Wednesday, Feb, 17, 2021. Click story to view the video clip.