Wake Up - It's Grace

Jake Sully is just that: "sullied." His body has been broken, leaving him without the ability to walk, and he carries with him a cynical view of life as simply a process of inevitable events of which he is merely a participant by duty. When he arrives on Pandora, the world that possesses the "unobtanium" that the earth-based company wants, he is introduced to the Avatar program which is led by the scientist played by Sigourney Weaver.

Through the new technology, Jake is allowed to act within a healthy Na'vi body and enter the world that mere humans cannot access. The man once broken and "sullied" by our world is given new life - aptly - by Dr. "Grace." It is through his new avatar that Jake truly begins to learn what it is to live.

Interesting, from a Christian point of view, for it is we who are also sullied by sin; and it is grace that brings us back and gives us new life. Along with that come the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, piety, counsel, fortitude (or courage), and fear of the Lord. Jake Sully exhibits these new noble qualities as he begins to accept the ways and outlook of the Na'vi people. They are in harmony with their surroundings and with one another - almost utopian. This sort of right relationship is the goal of Christian - and human - life. We are all called to the sense of justice that sees the connections between all - and above all, with God. This is the fruit of Grace, and it brings us out of ourselves to discover ourselves anew.

All is Calm, All is Bright

Until after the Feast...

A Couple Christmas Questions

Christmas is two short days away. After tomorrow (because I already had a post scheduled), I will take an end-of-year break and return for the New Year. So, something to ponder:

Did the shepherds ever catch themselves humming the song the angels sang to them?

Did the wise men see anything new on that "other route" they took to go home after Bethlehem?

Did Mary and Joseph, for the rest of their lives, ever look at stables as they passed and smile?

Do we realize the immense Gift we have received in our faith in a child born in a stable, who is God-made-man?

Merry Christmas to all!

Princesses Christmas

Thanks to Deacon Greg for the video reference.

"Amminadab begat Nashon, Nashon begat Salmon..."

Deacon Greg posts this video of the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew - the gospel option for the Vigil of Christmas (not the more common Midnight Mass reading). There are a lot of difficult names in this one and it is very boring to listen to.

Until now...

Ice and Snow, Bless the Lord...

Ah, the winder wonderland that was the Mid-Atlantic this weekend is slowly starting to thaw (with word of more wintery weather in its way for Christmas). Here are some shots I took of the church and rectory where I am in residence. Enjoy!

Feel free to send me your own winter shots (fraustinmurphy(@) gmail (dot) com.

Inconceivable!

“Inconceivable!”

Anyone who has seen The Princess Bride movie knows that line. Vizzini, the crooked pirate thief repeatedly utters the word every time he sees something that he cannot believe or did not anticipate. When the Dread Pirate Roberts is following his ship – “Inconceivable!”; when the masked man continues to climb the “cliffs of despair” – “Inconceivable!”; when he defeats his fellow henchmen, the Spaniard and the giant – “Inconceivable!” At one point, his companion, Inigo Montoya, remarks, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Here, on this last Sunday of Advent, we are offered more “inconceivable” news in our readings, and were it not for our own knowledge of the grace of God at work, they truly are inconceivable.

Bethlehem was a tiny, backwater town – nothing to distinguish it, nothing to attract anyone to it, insignificant. It was the last place one would expect a Messiah to be born. And yet, the prophet Micah announces that it just from there that a new ruler of Israel will come, who “shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God.” It is there, in that “little town of Bethlehem,” that all “the hopes and fears of all the years” shall meet and God’s promises would be fulfilled.

Inconceivable.

Our gospel today tells us the story of two women – one thought too old to have children, the other vowed to virginity, perhaps too young even. Both of them greet each other with child in womb and celebrate the blessings of God that are coming to be through them.

Inconceivable.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews is also talking about this Messiah – the “one who is to come.” This “one” is Christ, and God’s action is just as wonderful and new. Jesus is that perfect offering, the sacrifice that reconciles us to God; and this is no insignificant fact. God, in bringing us to salvation, does so by giving our nature new dignity and meaning by taking that nature upon Himself. Jesus is true God and true man. It is that human nature, as the Letter tells us, that brings us into contact with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. The “body prepared for” Jesus is God’s way of reconciling us to Himself. We are saved because God became man!

Inconceivable.

Now, we gather – our presence the very result of all of these “inconceivable” actions – and we await with joy the untold glory that accompanies Jesus’ return to us. Christmas is only days away, and we will celebrate with enthusiasm that day when the King of kings and Lord of lords was born in a simple stable, surrounded by sheep and cattle, shepherds and angels.

But, what of us? Where does this celebration find us, now? We bear the burdens of our lives: perhaps heartbreaking loss, or painful addiction, or paralyzing doubt, or simple apathy. We live in a world where the practical reality of God seems so far away – He might as well be on the moon, let alone in Bethlehem.

However, this is the very reason we celebrate Advent. It is why, even today, with Christmas five short days away, we gather and are reminded of the nearness of God. He stands firm and shepherds His flock; He is Christ, who came into the world; He is so near that even babies leap in the womb. For us, Jesus brings not just the meaning of Christmas, but the meaning of Life. When we are too heartbroken to see beyond today, Jesus comes and holds out his promise of eternal life; when we see no way out of despair, Jesus tells us that he is the Way; when we are too tied up to material things, Jesus gives us himself.

This Fourth and final Sunday of Advent, our celebration fills with the light of the approaching dawn. God enters our everyday lives and transforms us, making everything new – even from the messiness of a stable.

God is present.

Inconceivable?

Not for Him!

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

We are a long way from a stable in Bethlehem here.

A Meaning-full Future

The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

"I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?" said Scrooge.

The Spirit answered not, but pointed downward with its hand.

"You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us," Scrooge pursued. "Is that so, Spirit?"

The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.

Scrooge admits that he fears this Ghost more than the others. The Ghost of Christmas Future is one that has no words - neither comfort nor woe. His menacing shape simply guides the old man through the shadows of things yet to come. Scrooge is ultimately faced with his own mortality and death. Surrounding him is none of the love, none of the tenderness that he sees with the Cratchits. Rather, he finds men mater-of-fact-ly talking about the dead man in front of them. His wealth goes nowhere; it does no one any good - least of all the lifeless figure beneath the shroud.

Scrooge is terrified. His death is inevitable - as is our own. However, the utter meaninglessness of his life in the end is the ultimate spectre that haunts him the most. There are no mourners, only Death, and finally, Scrooge sees his final resting place: a forgotten tomb.

The Ghost of Christmas Future brings to us fear. That is the scary part of the future - the uncertainty, the doubt. As we look ahead in life, there are many things that are uncertain: "Will I marry?" "Will I be successful?" "Will my children be safe and good?" "Will I be healthy?" All of the questions create a bit of fear in our lives, but ultimately they are about the meaning that is attached to our lives. "Does it all have a point?" "Am I involved in that point?"

Scrooge is truly haunted because he does not see meaning in his death. He does not see how his life leads to any sense of meaning for him either. The utterly meaningless death that he sees for himself is the true wake-up call for him.

Our meaning does not come from our wealth or our occupations. It does not come from possessions or stories about who we think we are. Rather, as Christians - as true disciples of Christ - our meaning comes from that relationship that begins with our Baptism. This relationship carries with it a promise: Eternal Life!

The remedy for the fear and doubt that the future can carry is faith. Jesus is the center of that faith, and through it we come to see meaning in even the most insignificant things in our lives. Jesus is the reason - not only for this season - but for us. Period.

And so, we leave Mr. Scrooge and his new fellows - who had been his old fellows, unrecognized. Dickens tells us that "it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"

Adeste, Fideles!

"I was only going to say," said Scrooge's nephew," that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us, and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. I am sure he loses pleasanter companions than he can find in his own thoughts, either in his mouldy old office, or his dusty chambers. I mean to give him the same chance every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him. He may rail at Christmas till he dies, but he can't help thinking better of it -- I defy him -- if he finds me going there, in good temper, year after year, and saying Uncle Scrooge, how are you. If it only puts him in the vein to leave his poor clerk fifty pounds, that's something; and I think I shook him yesterday."

We cannot help but like Scrooge's nephew. His cheer was infectious to all who held to the spirit of the season - and so we can see why Scrooge was never swayed by his greetings - until now. Fred sees in his uncle's ill spirits something to pity rather than a nasty old man, and his resolution to continue offering the opportunity to join in the Life of Christmas should remind us of the gift of God's grace, always available to us and never deserved. It's just simply there because God is there.

The Ghost of Christmas Present seeks to wake Scrooge to the world around him. He has too long been turned in on himself, crusted over by disappointment, heartbreak and selfishness. "Look upon me!" are the Ghost's first words to the old miser. In other words, "Be present!"

This is what God calls us to - a "being there" that brings us into contact with the wonders around us. Opening our eyes to that which is around us is a gift, but it is also an awful responsibility - one we must face. Before the Ghost departs, he shows Scrooge the results of humanity's selfishness - of our turning into ourselves.

From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment.

"Oh, Man, look here! Look, look, down here!" exclaimed the Ghost.

They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude.

"Spirit, are they yours?" Scrooge could say no more.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end."

The grace of the present is awareness As we move toward Christmas, we hear the words of the familiar carol: "Adeste, fideles!" Commonly, we sing this as "O Come, all ye faithful." However, the Latin gives a better sense of what I am talking about here. "Adeste" literally means "Be here." Be present. Hopefully, in our preparations for Christmas, we are not simply being carried along for the ride; hopefully, we are driving ourselves, and seeing where God is present to us now.

And we can then be present to Him - and each other.

Ghosts of the Past

The first of the spirits to visit Ebeneezer Scrooge announces that he is the Ghost of Christmas Past. In his Christmas-Eve task, he carries the old miser through his childhood and youth to teach him his first lesson. Scrooge sees his childhood and how he was neglected by his harsh father - left at his boarding school over the holiday. As we follow Scrooge, we begin to see a little about how he became who he is. Sitting in his empty classroom that Christmas Eve, we feel sorry for the boy who would become the penny-pinching banker. We start to understand that he is also the product of his environment.

As he goes through life, earning a job with Old Fezzywig, and even falling in love. However, his love of money and dedication to gain causes him to lose the love of his life. Scrooge had made his decision about what he valued and it cost him a great relationship.

The Ghost can visit us too - perhaps not at Christmas, but he does visit. He visits when we realize the things in our own life that we have lost due to choices we have made. The sting of this Ghost's message is regret. Regret bites us when we realize that we have sacrificed some life-giving relationship for something lesser - something comparatively insignificant. Yes, we are the products of our environments too, but we are also the product of our choices. We are human, and also responsible - in our freedom - for the decisions that we make in life.

This is not so say that we are to brood over "the one that got away" or my junior year girlfriend whom I could have married. There may always be "what ifs," but as long as we look at what we have and are and see the relationship with God that He has made us for. Our vocations are not to "do" something. Rather, our vocations are calls to be.

The remedy for regret is retrospection, which is more than just hindsight. Retrospection allows us to look at our past, accept it for what it is - good and bad - and to bring the lessons learned into the present. This is the heart of what we call "examining our consciences." It is the first step toward reconciliation - where we recognize sins and mistakes and are touched with a desire to make things better. For us as Christians, we should know that on our own this is not possible, but that it is God's grace that strengthens us to make good on resolutions for a better future.

Scrooge looked at himself honestly, at the choices he had made, and began to realize that what he did was not who he was supposed to be. For us, it is helpful to look at our lives and be grateful for the relationships that make us who we are - for God has started us on that path to knowing ourselves - and Him.

The Carol

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 during a time when the celebration of Christmas was much less dramatic than it is today. Certainly, the day of the Birth of the Lord was a major holiday, but it was celebrated at that time with much more sobriety and less commercialism than our Target- and Macy's-fueled yuletide festivities. Dickens' tale was meant as a critique of the rampant capitalism that had led to the discounting of human beings in favor of the amassing of personal wealth.

But to what end? Dickens asks. Indeed, what would it profit Mr. Scrooge if he gain the whole world at the cost of his soul? The story of A Christmas Carol endures to this day because it continues to remind us that the true meaning of Christmas remains in the relationships that make our lives meaningful - not the money spent or the money held.

There is a certain satisfaction that we feel when Ebeneezer finally begs for another chance. We truly believe - and know - that he will "make good on his promise" and keep Christmas special in his life. More important for him, he will keep it in the lives of those around him. In the next days, I'll look at the three spirits who visit him - because they should visit us as well - and what they mean for us today.

"God bless us, every one!"

The Joy of God

“Gaudete!” “Rejoice!” This is the first word of our First Reading, our Psalm, and our Second Reading today – and properly so. Today, we celebrate “Gaudete Sunday” – a Sunday of rejoicing. We are drawing ever closer on our Advent-ure toward the coming of Christ at Christmas. It is truly a time for joy.

Joy. What do we think of when we hear that word? Many things come to mind for me. But this past week, I was given another image. On my day off, I stopped by my parents’ house and was surfing the channels as I had lunch. I came across a rerun of that old Bob Ross program, “The Joy of Painting.” Do you remember that? He’s the guy with the big, bushy hair who paints landscapes in half-hour programs. He’s the “happy little trees” guy. I was always intrigued by him, because he always painted these amazing scenes of mountains, valleys, beaches, forests – whatever.

On this particular program, he was painting a beach cove scene, with a bright, illuminated sky, crashing waves and rugged rocks. As I watched, I was blown away by how easily he created the very real images of the water and the reflections and the motion of the waves. It was as though he knew what it would look like before he started, and he just uncovered it from the canvas. “Maybe a nice strong rock lives right here,” he’d say, and there the rock was. Even when he painted something that seemed insignificant or distorted, a few brush strokes later, it was as if the wave would fall off the canvas and soak the guy. It’s truly a gift that he has.

But as I watched, I found myself feeling something other than amazement. The perfect plan that he had for the picture unfolded as he mixed colors and brush strokes, and it was satisfying. He was in control, and it was beautiful. I felt joy.

Joy. I felt joy, because the artist was bringing to light the reality of the image that he wanted to create – and he loved it too. It made him happy.

As we move through Advent – and as we move through our lives, it often seems that there are few reasons for real joy. The world continues to be overshadowed by threats of terrorism, war and violence. People are losing trust in their leaders and one another. We and many of our family members may suffer, apparently pointlessly. And, in our search for joy, we often turn to drugs, alcohol, bad relationships or other sinful practices to bring us some sense of relief. Joy just doesn’t seem like a natural feeling for us right now.

However, our readings – our whole celebration this weekend – points to a reason to rejoice: the nearness of God. Our First Reading states, “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst.” The Psalm announces, “Great in your midst us the Holy One of Israel!” St. Paul proclaims to the Philippians, “The Lord is near.” And the people who listened intently to John the Baptist’s preaching “were filled with expectation.” For us, liturgically, the coming of Jesus at Christmas is almost palpable.

But the message of Advent is one of preparation, expectation and awareness. We are called to recognize the working of God in our midst – to see what it is that He is doing in our lives. While we may not understand why this or that is happening right now, it is through introspection, retrospection and circumspection that we can see His great plan unfold for us.

First, we must look within ourselves. How are we doing in our relationship with God? Do we pray regularly? Has this Advent truly been a graced occasion for us to look at our faith and draw ourselves closer to God so that we can welcome Christ into our hearts? St. Alphonsus Ligouri said that “paradise for God is the human heart.” That is exactly where God wants to be – in our hearts. Our job is to prepare a place for Him.

Second, we must reflect on where God has been for us. In the midst of difficulties and trials it is hard to recognize God’s presence; however, by looking back over our lives, we can see how those choices or events that we did not fully understand have helped to shape us into the persons we have become – the persons whom God wants us to be, with whom He chooses to have a relationship. It’s like that painting that I watch unfold on that canvas. I did not know why he made that brushstroke or used this color, but once it was revealed, it was beautiful.

Finally, we must then look around us. God is always at work in our lives – even now. He chooses to use us and others in order to bring His kingdom to its fullness. It’s not finished here. It may look very far from done. However, we can continue living our relationship with God, confident that He is in control and knows exactly what He is doing. After all, He is the Artist, and we are His greatest work.

Even when our world is not filled with friendly little clouds or happy little trees, we can take heart – be joyful, even. God is bringing all the full color and true beauty out in each one of us with each and ever stroke of His divine hand. Our joy comes from cooperating with this work, and once in a while, looking around to enjoy the picture. God’s work is the ultimate cause for joy, and we are blessed to be right in the middle of it.

Pathetic

I have "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on DVD now, but there is still a sense of joy that comes with being able to stop and watch it on TV - which, I must admit, I have missed this year due to other duties. I recall with joy those evenings when that spinning "Special" would show up on the screen accompanied by the drums However, in recent years, the network has been playing with the length of the show in order to add more commercials. This is something that anyone who has learned anything from this classic cartoon will recognize as the ultimate irony. Leon Lynn certainly did - and here is his letter to ABC to illustrate it:

Dear ABC,

How could you?

For years and years I have awaited the network broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as the true herald of the holiday season. I brought my kids up with the same tradition -- one which has been made no less special for us by the fact that they happen to be Jewish.

Tonight we sat in horror and watched what you have done to the single greatest cartoon ever made.

How many minutes did you cut out of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" so you could run more commercials?

Gone was Sally's materialistic letter to Santa, which finally sends Charlie screaming from the room when she says she will settle for 10s and 20s.

Gone was Schroeder's miraculous multiple renditions of "Jingle Bells" from a toy piano, including the one that sounds distinctly like a church organ.

Gone was Linus using his blanket as an improvised slingshot to knock a can off the fence no one else can hit, complete with ricochet sound effect.

Gone were the kids catching snowflakes on their tongues and commenting on their flavor.

Gone even was poor Shermy's only line. He thought he had it bad because he was always tasked to play a shepherd. He had no idea.

And why were all these classic scenes cut? To plug more ads into the show, of course. To sell burgers and greeting cards -- and to relentlessly plug the insipid-looking new Disney "soon to be a classic" show immediately following. (I didn't watch the new show, by the way. I was laid far too low by what had just happened.)

Cramming all of these ads into the 30-minute broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" required major edits to a cartoon that has spent 44 years now trying to remind us that Christmas is supposed to transcend crass commercialism.

Do you have no sense of irony?

A couple of weeks ago I noted that you can now buy a plastic replica of the pathetic little real-wood Christmas tree Charlie Brown brings home from the tree lot otherwise monopolized by shiny fake trees. I thought we had sunk as low as we could.

Obviously I was wrong.

Oh, and by the way: The sound was half a second behind the picture: They were not synched properly. I thought this was pretty sloppy for a major TV network, but I was willing to look past it.

What I cannot look past is the chopping to bits of a genuine classic, not just to pump more ads at us, but in direct conflict with the message that has made it a classic.

When I was a kid, the annual broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was a holiday unto itself. It was the only time we ever saw ads for Dolly Madison snack cakes, for one thing. But more importantly, it actually framed the coming holiday for me in a meaningful way.

The shepherds in their fields had no corporate sponsors. Nobody had bought the naming rights for the manger. The infant Jesus did not have an endorsement deal lined up with a particular line of swaddling clothes.

Instead he came, the story goes, to preach universal love, and the abandonment of false ideals like the acquisition of gross material wealth in favor of something far more valuable.

You have not just lost sight of this, or turned your backs on it. You have stomped it into the mud.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

But I bet you aren't. I bet you're way past that.

Count my family out for next year.


Sincerely,

Leon Lynn

Often, we or others will try to modify the message of the Gospel in order to make it more palatable to our hearers. Sometimes this is in the interest of "being pastoral," other times it is motivated by a genuine fear of how we will be received. However, when that happens the Truth suffers. It suffers because it is not being shared. It suffers because it is silent. There is, indeed, something "special" about our message, and we ought to be excited - on fire - to share it. Agree or not, people want to hear and know what we are about. Thus, we cannot modify the Truth in order to get more listeners or adherents, because that is simply not honest.



Leon, you can borrow my DVD anytime.

Elmo Knows Your Name

... and, apparently, he wants to kill you if you change the batteries!

I guess I won't be getting this for my nieces this year.

A Prodigal Clownfish

"I gotta find my son, Nemo!"

"Nemo? Hey, he's that fish - you know, the one we've been talking about, the one who's been searching the whole ocean..."

Little Nemo's dad, Marlin, searches for his son with singular focus, and no matter what comes his way - sharks, whales, jellyfish - he will not give up in that search. Marlin knows that Nemo is lost, and he will spend the rest of his life if necessary trying to find him.

Jesus' image of the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son is one that intrigues and comforts me. We read that while the son was far off the Father saw him, and he went running out to meet him. This old man, whose eyes should be failing and whose body should be frail, spies and runs to his son. He must have been looking for him too. Imagine the joy of that Father who sees his son after all that time - after hoping heroically that the son would return - after dismissing all the advice of the servants and his other son to give up and move on.

This is how I envision God to be looking at each one of us - knowing that we might be a bit lost, He continues to watch, ready to run to us when we are ready to return to Him. It's a story that should spread throughout the whole ocean - and the world - as a reminder that there is always a welcome waiting for us when we are ready to turn back to God.

Their Voice Goes Out to All the World

"Do you hear what I hear?"

That song is one of my perennial favorites. The story it tells is really a the heart of what we prepare for this Advent and Christmas season. How does God come to us? The answer must begin in the silence of the night wind. This is a season of attentiveness - attentiveness to how God speaks - and sometimes whispers - to us in our lives. He doesn't choose the strong and the influential all the time. No - more often than not, God starts with the weakest and the most insignificant to make His message known.

This is also the path of the Gospel: from the uneducated disciples of an itinerant preacher in ancient Palestine, that Word has gone out to all the earth.

Just as the message of Christ's birth in that song starts as a whisper on the night wind, speaking to a little lamb - as that little lamb softly tells the shepherd boy - as the shepherd bravely announces to the king - and as the king proclaims to people everywhere - "Do you hear what I hear?"

That is the message that we are entrusted to share: "Do you hear what I hear?" "Do you know what I know?" We are not to assume that "someone else" will tell it. If we do that, the Word has to wait. And if it has to wait long enough, the winds, the sheep, even the very stones, will start to shout.

Of Grinches and Grace

I never really paid attention before this year to the lyrics of that "Mr. Grinch" song. However, driving the other day, I was singing along (or trying to) to it as it came on the radio, and eventually I simply found myself listening to the words. And I started to feel bad for the poor green guy. Look:

You're a mean one Mr. Grinch
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus,
And as charming as an eel,
Mr. Grinch!
You're a bad banana,
With a greasy black peel!

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch!
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders.
You've got garlic in your soul,
Mr. Grinch!
I wouldn't touch you
With a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch!
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile,
Mr. Grinch!
Given the choice between the two of you,
I'd take the seasick crocodile!

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch!
You're a nasty, wasty skunk!
Your heart is full of unwashed socks.
Your soul is full of gunk,
Mr. Grinch!
The three words that best describe you
Are as follows, and I quote,
"Stink, stank, stunk!"

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch!
You're the king of sinful sots!
Your heart's a dead tomato,
Splotched with moldy, purple spots,
Mr. Grinch!
Your soul is an appalling dump-heap,
Overflowing with the most disgraceful
assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable,
Mangled-up in tangled-up knots!

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch!
With a nauseous super naus!
You're a crooked jerky jockey,
And you drive a crooked hoss,
Mr. Grinch!
You're a three-decker sauerkraut
and toadstool sandwich,
With arsenic sauce!

Ouch!

So, the Grinch gets these traits slathered all over him: meanness, monster, "bad," nauseating, vile, "a rotter" - not to mention again, "stink, stank, stunk." Those who know the story can understand why these traits are attributed to him, though. However, as I listened, I was struck most by the judgment upon his soul - how utterly beyond bad he truly was. His soul is filled with "garlic" and "gunk," as well as being "an appalling dump-heap, overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable."

Bad Grinch!

Evil Grinch!

Poor Grinch?

Yes. Our Christmas-stealing monster is certainly in need - but just like all of us - of God's saving love and mercy. What transforms his heart (three sizes that day)? It's the fact that the Whos recognize that what is truly important on Christmas is not the external giving and getting of gifts, but The Gift that God gives us in His only Son, born that day. The incarnate love of God seen in Jesus Christ is the true love that is God. And this love melts the iciest hearts and breaks through the garlic and gunk to transform us into Children of God.

The Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day. As we look forward to our own celebration of Christmas, is there room for God to make ours grow as well?

Announcing...

What do you do
when the Word comes to you?
Even when I went
into the desert,
away from the cities,
away from the facades,
the hypocrisy,
the noise.

Here in the desert
it all seems so simple.
Cry out to God
and cry out to His People.
Simple:
Turn away from sin
and turn back to Him.

The desert silence
gives me peace -
peace that the priests
and teachers
and scribes
and
and
and
that old law
cannot give me.

Here,
it is simple:
the dry tufts of grass
the wandering shepherds
the wind.
These were my friends,
and their silence
spoke to me.

Until...

That Word.

What do I do?
Where shall I go now?
What am I to be?

The Word has come to me,
and it calls me to be
something -
someone -
to be me.

The Word has come,
and
I will be the voice.

Christmas "Shoes"

That "Christmas Shoes" is one of those annual things that one either loves or hates - there is no "in between." I can't change the station quickly enough when I hear those first little piano notes. Anyway, oddly, I was reflecting on the "what if" of the song - like if the kid went to another store and pulled a similar scam for some "Christmas Rolexes." Anyway, a visit from fellow blogger Scott pointed me to one who actually had the time to do such an evil parody - and by "evil" I mean absolutely hilarious! Watch this go viral!

How about that? Funny, and with a lesson! Call it karma or justice, the Christmas Spirit is still at work!

Passing Along a Treasure

My cyber-spiritual directee, Scott Miller, posted this list the other day (he had lifted the list from Aggie Catholics before that). This is a season of preparation and prayer, so what better way to do it than to explore the richness of our Tradition? If you find your prayer life "isn't working," then maybe it is a worthwhile practice to try some other way of praying. Many young people are not aware that prayer can take on some form other than and occasional Our Father or Act of Contrition. So, dig in - the smorgasbord is open!

Mass Baptism Confession / Reconciliation / Penance Confirmation Matrimony Anointing of the Sick Ordination Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament The Holy Rosary Sign of the Cross Liturgy of the Hours Our Father (The Lord’s Prayer) Hail Mary Glory Be The Apostle’s Creed The Nicene Creed The Angelus Guardian Angel Prayer St. Michael The Archangel Prayer Lectio Divina Meal Blessing (Grace) Divine Mercy Chaplet Bible study The Beatitudes Indulgences Novenas (There are many different ones) Litanies (There are many different ones) Act of Spiritual Communion Consecration to Mary (this is a sample of one way to do it) Blessings (There are many different ones) Hail Holy Queen Fatima Prayer (for the Rosary) Fatima Prayer (for reparation) Examination of Conscience (There are many different ones) Fasting

Act of Contrition (There are several different ones) Act of Faith (There are several different ones) Act of Hope (There are several different ones) Act of Love (There are several different ones) Prayer of Abandonment (There are several different ones) Prayer for a Happy Death (There are several different ones) Morning Offering (There are many different ones) The Divine Praises Blessing and Adoration to God Meditation Vocal Prayer Petition Intercession Thanksgiving Praise Contemplation Repentance Regina Coeli Memorare Singing hymns Chant Praise and Worship Lorica of St. Patrick Prayer for Travelers Anima Christi Renewal of Baptismal Promises Prayer for Vocations (There are many different ones) Prayer After Mass (There are many different ones) Prayer Before Mass (There are many different ones) Offering Suffering for Others / “Offering it up” (There are many different ones) Prayers for Souls in Purgatory (There are many different ones) Prayer to the Holy Spirit (There are many different ones) Come, Holy Spirit

Prayers of the Saints (There are millions of different ones) Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Holy reading / Spiritual reading St. Alphonsus method of mental prayer St. Theresa of Avila’s method of mental prayer Canticle of Zechariah Canticle of Simeon Prayer before Confession (There are several different ones) Blessing of a house Praying with the Psalms Devotion of the Scapular (There are different kinds of scapular devotions) Prayer as a couple (There are many different ones) Family prayer (There are many different ones) Spiritual Bouquets Spiritual journaling Sacred Heart devotion Confiteor Benediction Devotion to the Miraculous Medal Praying with Holy cards Agnus Dei Prayer before a crucifix (There are many different ones) Votive Offerings – Prayer while lighting a candle The Holy Face Devotion to the Child Jesus Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Devotion to the Five Wounds Pilgrimages Charismatic prayer (speaking in tongues, slain in the Spirit, etc.) Prayer for peace (There are many different ones) Prayer for healing (There are many different ones) Prayer for the unborn (There are many different ones)

Dealing With Our Passions

Last year, I went to see the "Twilight" film with nine girls from Towson University who wanted to take me because I had preached about it earlier that particular month. I then blogged about what I saw there - even though I did not like the movie there were elements of virtue in it that merited observation. I have no such interesting story to tell about this year's excursion to the movie theater. Yes, I went to see "New Moon." (Guys, when you're finished laughing at me please continue reading.)

In the new film, the love story twixt Bella and the undead Edward continues. Bella is still driven to "know" her vampire boyfriend, but he and she are also committed to their abstinent relationship. "Celibacy sucks," she observes at one point. Edward's commitment to refraining from the "carnal knowledge" of his girlfriend is more than his Edwardian-era values. He simply does not want to hurt her, and he knows that such indulgence in this passion would do just that.

On the other end, Bella's friend, Jacob Black, is dealing with his own raging hormones. However, these are not driving him to sexual expression; rather, they are more geared toward rage. At one point, he gets inexplicably angry at one of Bella's friends and catches himself. He is changing into a werewolf, and the primal rage that comes with that is something he also must learn to control.

These two young men - Edward and Jacob - are good examples of the passions and hormones that drive guys their ages (well, Edward is 109, but who's counting?). Often, the sexual acting out of young people is rationalized as simply "natural," and it is accepted that young people need to "explore" that aspect of nature. The same would never be admitted about the anger aspect. It is not acceptable for boys to attack and tear each other apart, even if the hormonal drives that push them are also "natural."

Stephanie Meyer seems to have latched on to a valuable lesson that, hopefully, our young people are hearing. Bella is pushing for the fullness of expression with Edward, and his is mature and continent enough to resist. Jacob has the wisdom of his tribe to help him deal with the urges toward rage and violence. These are good ideas for us all. Channeling that energy into constructive, life-giving avenues for young people should also be the role of adults who care about them. It is also "natural" for us to want to nurture and teach them - to keep them from harm as they learn life lessons.

We all have these forces welling inside us, and they are stronger at certain times in our lives than others. However, there is great power for good in us with these as well. We are just waiting to discover them.

Beginning Again

This is my 600th posting.

It's also the first one that I have done in a week, after over a year and a half of posting practically daily. When I started blogging, it was an exercise for myself, to keep me in tune with my faith and spirituality and any practical applications to culture. I was doing it for myself - and anyone else who might pop in and find these thoughts helpful. I have found many friends in this part of the blogosphere, and I have learned much from their gifts and postings as well.

However, I also began to feel driven by the blog itself - like I had to post. I didn't like how that felt. I was constantly peeking to see how many visits I was getting and who was linking to me. It was becoming too important.

So, I took a week off - forced myself to stay away. This week has been a good one - a time to reorient priorities and gather myself again. I suppose that this Advent comes along at just the right time! So, for those classes on Jesus in the media or in culture, rest assured - I'll have something for you soon enough. I don't have to blog, but I am glad that I can.

So, this is how I am beginning Advent this year. I posted this video last year, and I think it is good to watch it again as we begin our own hustling and bustling. There is a new 'conspiracy" this year, and the video is below. Remember what is important this Advent.

And try to keep that in mind all the time!