Archive for December, 2007:
A St. Nicholas miracle
Kimberlee blogged an amazing story that our Bishop, Kevin Rhoades, shared at the recent diocesan Caelorum.
Apparently as a young seminarian in Italy he and some seminarian friends took a trip through various parts of Europe. They had a complicated itinerary worked out for their journey in order for them to visit all of their various destinations. While on an overnight train trip, after crossing the Mediterranean, Bishop Kevin had a sudden inspiration to stop and pray at the tomb of St. Nicholas. His companions however did not want to get off train and disrupt their carefully arranged plans. Still, though he didn’t know why, Bishop Kevin’s desire was very strong and he eventually persuaded his companions to change their plans. They got off their train and went to pray at St. Nicholas’ tomb. The next morning they found out that the train they had disembarked from had been bombed by terrorists, killing 80 people! Understandably the experience had a deep impact on him.
As for me, I say Thanks be to God! We are very blessed the have Bishop Kevin here in the Diocese of Harrisburg but I feel quite confident in saying that the blessing he is to us will not remain limited here. In years to come I will not be surprised if many more of you know who he is and are blessed by him as well.
Subscribe to the comments for this postThe Everyday Miracle of St. Nicholas
Happy feast of St. Nicholas! Unfortunately I have no pictures to show you or stories to tell of surprises in shoes and special crafts. If you’re looking for that scroll down to the Catholic Mother’s Online blogroll in the sidebar and try a few random clicks. You’re sure to find some inspiring posts. But not here because though I had plans, they never came to fruition. I have sick children, a teething baby and a husband gone to visit his sick mother. Frankly I feel like a zombie because I haven’t been getting much sleep.
But even though things didn’t go quite as I had hoped, I realized this evening that I still had every opportunity to experience the true spirit of St. Nicholas. In his beautiful little book Seek That Which is Above, Pope Benedict XVI writes:
“Nicholas was one of the first people to be venerated as a saint without having been a martyr.
During the persecution of Christians, those who opposed the pagan state power and gave their lives for their faith had quite automatically become great examples of faith.
When peace was concluded between Church and state, people needed new models. Nicholas impressed them as one ready to help others.
His miracle was not that of great heroism in the face of torture, imprisonment and death. It was the miracle of constant kindness.”
“Whereas all the other miracles could be performed by magicians and demons and thus were ambivalent, one miracle was absolutely transparent and could not involve any deception, namely, that of living out the faith in everyday life for an entire lifetime and maintaining charity.”
Well, I am sorry to say I have not been particularly good at this lately. While not a bear exactly, lack of sleep has made me somewhat grouchy. So tomorrow I plan to do better and since my house has finally grown quiet after a day full of noise, I bid you goodnight.
Happy New Year!
Today we begin Advent and a new liturgical year. Just as the earth cycles through its seasons, so too the Church cycles through seasons with a beautiful and purposeful rhythm. It is a rhythm with deep and profound meaning, meant to draw our hearts and minds towards God. The liturgical year is the life of Christ lived out again in liturgical time –in the time and in the memory of the Church. More than just remembering these events, we are reliving them and they in turn continue to give us grace.
Pope Benedict XVI, while he was yet Joseph Ratzinger, writes in Seek That Which is Above, that “The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to run through her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory, so that it can discern the star of hope. These events, of such great significance for mankind, which are preserved and opened up by faith’s calendar, are intended to become personal memories of our own life’s history through the celebration of holy seasons by means of liturgy and custom.”
Indeed, Advent is the season of hope and it is by no coincidence that the Holy Father has given us a new encyclical on hope - Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope). I am planning to read this encyclical and meditate on it these next three weeks as our family prepares for the Savior’s birth.
This time of year can be fraught with difficulties. What is meant to be joyful and reverent preparation can often end up being stressful and unhappy. At this busy time of the year all of us run the risk of feeling overwhelmed and Catholic parents perhaps even more so as we try to incorporate the feasts of the Church, of which there are many this time of year.
But we must remember why we do this. We must remember that living the liturgical year is not something we add on to our lives but it needs to be the central theme of our lives, the very way we live –the path we follow with Christ as we travel through this life waiting in joyful hope . . .
As parents one of the best ways we can insulate our children against though who wish them to lose their faith is to make it dear to them. Touch them emotionally and tie it to feelings of love, joy and hope. They need memories - lots of them. Memories of happiness and good times of how living the liturgical year meant living the faith and how living the faith means joy and happiness.
I know this can be easier said than done and I am sure the enemy tries hard to trip us up and distract us from our focus as we attempt to live this out. But I intend, with our Lord’s most merciful help, to try my hardest to keep my focus and live in joy. And I will be praying for you - please pray for me too.
It’s beginning to look a lot like . . .
Winter.
I was out and about running errands yesterday and I was rather struck by how winter-like the landscape has become. Except for a smattering of trees holding out from dropping their leaves, most are completely bare. Today is quite chilly and there’s a smell of snow on the wind. Indeed, we have a winter weather advisory in effect from 4 am to 7 PM Sunday. . . so snow it may. I sure hope we can make it to mass tomorrow for the first Sunday of Advent.
