grant you grace,

pour out his blessing in abundance,

and keep you safe from harm throughout the year.

Amen.

May God give you integrity in the faith,

endurance in hope,

and perseverance in charity

with holy patience to the end.

Amen.

May God order your days and your deeds in his peace,

grant your prayers in this and in every place,

and lead you happily to eternal life.

Amen.

Both are major steps forward; both are great signs of hope.

Regarding The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010 (The John Jay Report):

• This is the second independent study commissioned by the U.S. Catholic Bishops and undertaken by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Research team about the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests. (The first study, The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States was released in 2004 and updated with supplementary information in 2006).
• This study fulfills the pledge of the U.S. Bishops to complete a “study of the causes and context of the recent crisis” (Article 10, Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/charter.pdf)
• The Causes and Context Study seeks to understand why the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests happened as it did and when it did.
• The Study examines to social and cultural context, the psychological issues, situational factors that lead to abuse starting and stopping, the church’s response and organizational change.
• The Study presents its findings, conclusions regarding 1) education; 2) situational prevention models; 3) oversight and accountability and offers directions for further research.

 Regarding The Circular Letter to Assist Episcopal Conferences in Developing Guidelines for Dealing with Cases of Sexual Abuse of Minors Perpetrated by Clerics:

• This letter is addressed to Conferences of Catholic Bishops, such as the United States Catholic Conference, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the German Bishops Conference, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, etc.) to develop norms for the Catholic Church in that region to deal with cases of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clerics
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops developed such guidelines in 2002 and revised them in 2005, Essential Norms for Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors, which received official approval from Rome in 2006. The Essential Norms became church law for the United States. The U.S. Bishops’ Conference was one of the first Conferences of Bishops to develop policies. It is likely that the American experience with the Charter and the Norms helped provide practical experience for developing the Vatican norms just published.
• The U.S. Bishops’ Conference will vote on revisions to the Essential Norms at their June, 2011 meeting so that the Norms are consistent with these just-released guidelines.

 Signs of Hope:

• One major sign of hope is this demonstrated commitment of the Catholic Church – specifically the Catholic Church in the United States — to understand determine the scope and extent of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, to understand the underlying causes for the abuse and what needs to be done to bring healing to victims and prevent future abuse, i.e. to understand what happened, how and why it happened and what can be done about it. As the report itself notes, “no organization has undertaken a study of itself in the manner of the Catholic Church in the Nature and Scope and Causes and Context studies.” (p. 16)
• The study demonstrates that the overwhelming number of incidents of abuse of minors by priests took place in a limited time period: a steady increase from the mid-1960’s, peaking during the 1970’s and declining in the 1980’s and low incidence of abuse since 1985. (The recent story in The Plain Dealer about a woman now living in Texas who described being kissed and groped repeatedly as a teenager by a Cleveland priest is reporting events that took place even earlier – in the late 1950’s (and perhaps early 1960’s). The priest died more almost 45 years ago, in 1967. It should be noted that, although there is no way to confirm her accusations, when the woman came forward about three and a half years ago, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas (where the woman now  lives) initially paid for her therapy; for the past three years, the Diocese of Cleveland has been paying for her therapy.)  [http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/06/ texas_woman_says_she_was_abuse.html] The John Jay study was also able to demonstrate that the decline in more recent incidents of sexual abuse is not due to many recent victims not yet reporting their being abused.
• The Causes and Context study has been able to refute some of the suggested causes as to why priests abused minors, e.g. priestly celibacy (there has been no change in the rule of celibacy for priests before, during, or since the high number of incidents of abuse) and the presence of homosexual priests (men who were seminarians during the time when there was a reported increase in homosexual activity did not abuse minors in substantial numbers; they belong to the ordination group associated with decreasing incidents of abuse).
• The study also documents how the both the universal Church and the U.S. Bishops have come to understand the importance of  the “human dimension” in the training of seminarians and strengthened the norms in programs of priestly formation during the past forty years to better prepare priests to live out their commitment to celibacy, deal with the stresses of modern, priestly life and live healthy, fulfilling lives.
• The Causes and Context study highlighted research on situational prevention, the idea that crimes take place because an opportunity is present; creating less opportunity will result in fewer crimes. Creating and maintaining environments in which children are kept safe will lessen the opportunity for an adult to abuse a minor. Requiring Virtus training for all adults working with children, abuse-awareness and prevention programs like Praesidium for youth and parents, and safe-environment policies and practices for all churches, parish schools and programs serving youth are practical steps the church has taken to keep children safe. This will continue to reduce and keep lower the incidence of the sexual abuse of minors.
• The Circular Letter to Episcopal Conferences from the Vatican provides Bishops’ Conferences around the world with direction and guidance to help Bishops around the world to prepare norms to respond to incidents of sexual abuse by clergy or other church workers. The guidelines include critically important steps as responding to and assisting victims; protecting minors; reporting and cooperating with civil authorities; prevention efforts, including strengthening seminary formation programs. Issuing this letter demonstrates both the recognition that the issue of sexual abuse is a world-wide reality, not limited to particular regions or countries, and that the Church needs to respond justly, compassionately and effectively.

 A Caution:

The Causes and Context study provides analysis of the Church’s response to the sex abuse crisis and how the changes — first suggested to all bishops and then mandated by the Charter — have been implemented. Using institutional changes studies, they note five levels of participation in making institutional changes: innovators, early adapters, early majority, later majority and laggards. Unfortunately, despite establishing the Essential Norms as church law for the United States, some dioceses still have not permitted themselves to be audited regarding their compliance. Recent events in the Philadelphia Archdiocese demonstrate that the Norms have not been followed in every situation.

 In its conclusions regarding the “Organizational Response to Incidents and Reports of Sexual Abuse of Minors,” the Causes and Context report states:

 The church has now begun a system of change, but organizational changes take years, and often decades, to fully implement. To fully achieve change in the Catholic Church, all diocesan leaders must be committed to transparency about their actions, ensure that the immediate and appropriate responses to abuse become routine, and ensure that such actions are adopted on a national level by all church leaders. (p.93)

St. Paul also reminds us that Christ’s resurrection is not only about the promise of life after death but also about how we live our life here and now: We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death lifek his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. … Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6: 4-5, 11) So the values we live by and how we live equally reflect our faith in Christ.

 In his book, Blessed Are You who Believed, Carlo Carretto expresses this well:

When the world seems a defeat for God and you are sick with the disorder, the violence, the terror, the war on the streets; when the earth seems to be chaos, say to yourself, “Jesus died and rose again on purpose to save and his salvation is already with us.”

When your father or your mother, your son or your daughter, your spouse or your friend are on their death-bed, and you are looking at them in the pain of parting, say, “We shall see each other again in the Kingdom; courage ….”

Every departing missionary is an act of faith in the resurrection.

Every newly-opened leper hospital is an act of faith in the resurrection.

Every peace treaty is an act of faith in the resurrection.

Every agreed commitment is an act of faith in the resurrection.

When you forgive your enemy

When you feed the hungry

When you defend the weak

you believe in the resurrection.

When you have the courage to marry

When you welcome the newly-born child

When you build your home

you believe in the resurrection.

When you wake at peace in the morning

When you sing to the rising sun

When you go to work with joy

you believe in the resurrection.

            [Carlo Carretto, Blessed are you who believed, Orbis Books, 1982]

In the first days of May, the world-wide news focus has been the hunting down and killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Special Forces. It has dominated the news-cycle in every newspaper, on every station, in every news- or talk-radio program since the story first broke. The story has been examined from virtually every angle: what exactly happened? are they sure it really was bin Laden? what is the proof? how was he found? what did the Pakistanis know or not know? what does bin Laden’s death mean for Al Qaeda? for the war on terrorism? how are people around the world responding to what has happened?

 How does the killing of Osama bin Laden relate to Easter and believing in the resurrection?

 Two columns in The Plain Dealer are suggestive.

 Phillip Morris wrote:

In the end, we treated Osama bin Laden with a measure of dignity. We washed his body and wrapped it in a white shroud. We had a Muslim say a prayer for his soul. And then we buried his disfigured corpse in the Arabian Sea.

That’s the America I love. We never allowed our most hateful and determined enemy to define us.

“The Monster who was Osama bin Laden is Gone, and Leaves Behind a Strengthened United States” [http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2011 /05/post6.html]

Regina Brett wrote:

When I heard the news, my heart briefly celebrated.

The joy turned to pride in our country, then it turned to quiet reflection, which is where I still find myself.

What does the death of Osama Bin Laden mean?

The end of fear? The end of terror? The end of the war?

I celebrate the hope we all share for a safer world. But I can’t celebrate the death of another human being.

My Catholic, my Christian roots don’t allow for that. Neither does the Jewish faith that feeds them. I once read a Talmudic commentary about the power of God’s love:

When Moses lifted his staff to part the Red Sea, it opened wide to let the Israelites escape the torture and hell of slavery. The Egyptian army that chased after them drowned in the sea.

The angels began rejoicing the death of those terrorists when God stopped them. This was no time for cheering, God said. “Those were my children, too.”

Instead of rejoicing and chanting, “USA! USA!” as if we had won a soccer match, let’s reach for the most powerful weapon of all, God’s love, and pray that it infiltrates the hearts of all who hate us. And pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding.

“Death of bin Laden: Let Us Pray for Peace” http://www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2011/05/death_of_bin_laden_let_us_pray.html]

 To treat every person with dignity and respect – even our enemies. To pray for peace. To pray for the soul of our enemy. To allow God, not us, to pass judgment on his immortal soul and eternal destiny. This, too, is to believe in the resurrection.

Among those who need to prepare for this new translation are sign language interpreters, who regularly communicate Mass for Deaf persons in American Sign Language (ASL). Because the text of the Mass will be different, the signing also has to change. Some interpreters have both the understanding of the liturgy and of sign language to prepare for the new translation; many others do not have the skills.

 Recently, I was privileged to be part of a committee working to prepare a sign language translation of the new text of the ordinary part of the Mass (the prayers that do not change), including Eucharistic Prayers II and III (which are the ones most used). The team was composed of Deaf persons, whose native language is American Sign Language (including an ASL linguist), skilled and experienced ASL interpreters with many years of liturgical interpreting, and experienced priests, deacons, religious sisters and pastoral workers with the Catholic Deaf community. We recognized that what we were creating and filming (since there is no written form of ASL) could not be a definitive translation, but more of a first effort or rough draft that interpreters could use to prepare for the new edition of the Roman Missal.

 I have attended several diocesan priests’ and deacons’ meeting to learn about the new Roman Missal, read numerous articles (print and online) about the new translation, the process and the text itself, and studied the new parts for the priest and congregation. However, working with this committee on signing the new translation of the Mass has been the single most helpful aid for me to prepare for the new edition of the Roman Missal and to pray this new translation at Mass.

Why?

 The basic reason is this: since we were trying to translate the new Mass text into sign language, I (and everyone on the committee) was forced to study the Mass text very closely in order to understand what it was really saying, so we could then figure out how to translate it into ASL.

 Some examples:

• The Nicene Creed use the term “incarnate:” “incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” The word “incarnate” comes directly from Latin and literally can be translated as “in flesh” [as in the beginning of John’s Gospel: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14)]. There is a sign for “flesh.” However, unfortunately, it is also the sign for “meat.” The group had a long discussion about the appropriateness of using that sign to translate this important theological term in the Creed. Ultimately, we determined that using this sign was not proper either theologically or linguistically and chose signs that convey the human nature and human body of the Son of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
• Just before Communion, in the new translation, the people will now pray: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” This text quotes Matthew’s Gospel story of the Roman Centurion who appealed to Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus offered to come to his house, the Centurion told Jesus “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:8) In our prayer, we are not only quoting the Centurion but expressing a faith just like his in the healing power of the Eucharist we are about to receive. It is important that the sign language translation preserve the quotation from the Scripture, but also be clear that that the “roof’ being referred to was not the church roof (or any other building) but ourselves as temples of the Lord about to welcome him.
• In the new translation of Eucharistic Prayer III, the commemoration of the dead now reads: “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.” In analyzing this text, we recognized that the prayer remembered and offered prayer for all those who have died:  Christian people (whose faith gave them “the hope of resurrection”) but also non-Christians “who have died in your mercy.” It reminded us that our prayer at Mass is truly catholic, i.e. universal.

 My work on the committee to translate the new text of the Mass has convinced me that the most important way that anyone can prepare for the new edition of the Roman Missal is to sit down with each section of the new text: the penitential rite, the Gloria, the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, the prayers at the preparation of the gifts, each Eucharistic Prayer, the prayers in preparation for Communion, as well as the proper prayers for the Advent and Christmas season [the orations and the prefaces], which are also in the “sample texts” on the Bishops’ website. Read them – silently and aloud. Study them, especially noticing how often the Mass prayers quote or reference the Scriptures (found in “The Order of Mass – Annotated” in the Sample texts). Most of all, pray them and reflect on what the prayer says to you and what we are saying to God.

 I am strongly convinced that if all of us did this, when the First Sunday of Advent comes, we will still have to adjust to the new translation and may need some time to learn the new responses (and how to sing them), but we will be ready to pray them – and may pray the Mass even better than before.

[For those who may be interested in seeing the videos of the American Sign Language (ASL) translation of the ordinary Mass prayers in the new translation, go to: http://www.adw.org/service/NewRomanMissal_InterpreterTraining.asp]

 Ash Wednesday is as serious as Mardi Gras and Carnival are wildly celebratory. For a great many people, starting Lent is unthinkable without “getting ashes” (the question on the phone always is “what time are ashes?”). There is a certain grimness to Ash Wednesday, if only because so many people seem intent, this year, to be serious about keeping Lent and are determined to practice their Lenten sacrifices from the first day.

 The classic Catholic question is “what are you giving up for Lent?” For most “cradle Catholics,” it goes back to our childhood, when “giving up” something was the easiest and most straightforward way to introduce us to Lenten penance and sacrifice. A great many Catholics still keep Lent every year by giving up something (alcohol, smoking, sweets probably remain “the big three” perhaps followed most closely some form of entertainment, such as TV) and, by the end of Ash Wednesday already look forward to the coming of Easter, when “giving up” season is over. In terms of the Lenten spiritual practices, it connects with the practice of fasting.

 The more general question is “what are you doing for Lent?” Asking this question recognizes that Lent can be about more than “giving up.” It can be about doing something, positive action, such as prayer or good deeds of some kind. During Lent, weekday Mass attendance increases; people attend special devotions, such as Stations of the Cross, days of retreat and recollection. Outreach to people in need increases, though perhaps not as much as during the holiday season; there is an increase in people seeking volunteer service opportunities. These reflect prayer and almsgiving, the other two major spiritual practices of Lent.

 A friend of mine recently returned from taking a week off. In his first email when he returned, he wrote: “A few days in the AZ sunshine, the absolute peace of a place where there is almost no traffic, having five days and NOT having to set an alarm clock-all are great gifts. You start to realize how chaotic and driven our lives are and how we forget how to simply breathe.”

 When I read his message, I recognized the simple truth of his words: “how chaotic and driven our lives are” – “how we forget how to simply breathe.”

 In both Greek and Hebrew, the word for breath is the same word for Spirit, the breath of God.

 Perhaps the greatest temptation we encounter during Lent is the feeling that I must do something or not do something. Somehow it makes Lent about me – “God, look at me and see what I am doing for you!”

 In actuality, Lent is about God – what God has done for us in Jesus’ dying and rising, what God is doing for us, here, now, today, at this moment.

 While we may not have the luxury of Arizona sunshine (and warmth!) or the luxury of not having to set an alarm clock or deal with the traffic, perhaps during Lent we can try to simply breathe.

• Someone sitting in a restaurant sharing a meal with a friend. The cellphone rings and the person takes the call/email/tweet (and responds); the friend sits and waits.
• An individual plans the weekend schedule carefully; participation at Mass is a non-negotiable every week. Which day, which church, which Mass time all depends on what else is scheduled for the weekend. Mass could be Saturday (afternoon or evening) or Sunday (early morning, morning, midmorning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, evening). The individual is aware of which parish has Mass at what time and attends accordingly.
• A common complaint is, “I’d like to do _____________, but I’m just too busy.”

The coming of a new year is often a time to make changes. Many New Year’s resolutions have been made; many have already been broken. Perhaps what may be more helpful is to think about the priorities that are shown by our everyday choices and decisions – these are our true priorities.

Consider:

• Someone sitting in a restaurant sharing a meal with a friend. The cellphone rings and the person takes the call/email/tweet (and responds); the friend sits and waits. [Clearly the priority was the person making the call/sending the email/tweet, not the friend sitting at the table. I am continually amazed when I see people interrupting conversations, sitting with other people, stepping out of a meeting, walking out of church(!) to take a phone call/check email/tweets. (Someone reported observing a person texting while walking back from receiving Communion)(!) Is every one of those calls/emails/tweets that critically important, needing to be received and answered immediately? How important to me is being present to the person, the event in front of me?]
• An individual plans the weekend schedule carefully; participation at Mass is a non-negotiable every week. Which day, which church, which Mass time all depends on what else is scheduled for the weekend. Mass could be Saturday (afternoon or evening) or Sunday (early morning, morning, midmorning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, evening). The individual is aware of which parish has Mass at what time and attends accordingly. [Clearly, participating at Mass is a high priority – a “non-negotiable.” However, it is interesting to note that the person plans Mass attendance around the weekend events, not the weekend events around Mass. It also seems that celebrating Mass with a person’s own faith community is less important than whatever a person has scheduled during the parish’s Mass times. Does making a commitment to “Mass first, everything else later” along with “Mass at my parish is a priority”  offer a different  witness than a commitment to attend  Mass somewhere, sometime during the weekend? How important is it to have a real spiritual “home” and participate in a faith community? Is my presence at my parish an important way to support/be a part of my parish community or is my time, my schedule more important?]    
• A common complaint is, “I’d like to do _____________, but I’m just too busy.” [There is an old saying, “we always have time for what’s important to us.” “I’m too busy” really means that everything else in my life is more important than what I just said I’d “like” to do. If something is important to me and I “don’t have the time” what am I willing to change to be able to do what I want to do?] 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (vs. 1-7)

We have seen and heard this story presented in movies, Christmas plays, Christmas scenes, crèches, carols, paintings, Christmas cards again and again and again. In our mind, the images are vivid and strong:

• Joseph and Mary arrived as strangers in town
• They look for a place to stay and are rejected because “there was no room in the inn”
• The best Joseph can do is a stable (barn) or perhaps a cave where the animals are kept
• Mary gives birth (alone)
• Arriving as a stranger, being alone and unprepared, the best she can do is wrap her baby in swaddling clothes
• The only place she has to put the baby is in a manger

Right?

Most probably wrong.

But isn’t that what the story says?

Not exactly.

What do you mean, “not exactly?”

“Not exactly” because what we, living in 21^st Century American (Western) Civilization think it says and means about what happened is not what it actually meant to 1^st Century Mediterranean/ Mid-Eastern people.

How we understand certain words matter. Culture and community practices matter. For example, George Bernard Shaw supposedly said, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” There is truth to that: if I ask an American, “What do you see under the bonnet?” I would expect to hear “hair” because a “bonnet” is a kind of cap or hat tied with a ribbon. If I asked someone in England the same question, I would expect to hear about a motor vehicle’s engine, because the “bonnet” is the same as the “hood.”

An even deeper problem is life and cultural experiences. We take them for granted because they are common experiences that we all know and understand within our society and culture. Consider the sentence, “I flew to Florida.” Not stated – but understood – is that we flew in an airplane (if it were by helicopter, balloon/dirigible or rocket, we would expect that to be specified). However, how would someone with no experience of airplanes understand that sentence? Would it not be reasonable for that individual to suppose that I must have a special power (magical or super) that grants me the power to fly like a bird? Something similar is happening when read or hear Luke’s Gospel. We tend to misinterpret because our culture and experience is different.

A recent book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey (2008, IVP Academic, Downers Grove, IL) provides cultural context, based on traditional Middle Eastern culture, archeological studies and historic commentaries from the region.

To revisit our images of the Christmas story and consider them within the culture and experience of First Century Palestine:

• Joseph and Mary were strangers in town

Certainly not true. The Scripture states, that each person was to go “to his own town” (vs. 3) and that Joseph was “of the house and family of David” (vs. 4).  Joseph was certain to have relatives, part of his extended family — in fact part of the royal family of King David. Many homes would have been open to him. With a wife soon to give birth, they had an even greater claim on the hospitality of any relatives in the area. To turn away a woman about to give birth would shame the entire village; every house would be open to them.

• They look for a place to stay and are rejected because “there was no room in the inn”

Although there were commercial inns during Jesus’ time, the word used in Luke’s Gospel for “the inn” (vs.7) does not mean a commercial inn. Rather, it refers to a guest room or semi-detached house (perhaps with its own entrance, something like a mother-in law suite). Since the guest room was not available, they were welcomed into the family home.

• The best Joseph can do is a stable (barn) or perhaps a cave where the animals are kept

This interpretation is based primarily on Mary laying Jesus “in a manger” (vs. 7). In our day, we have long since separated human and animal living space (except, of course, for our pets). Many First century Palestinian homes had one large room, partitioned on two levels. The lower level (near the door) was for the animals; the upper level was for the family. Keeping the animal(s) inside during the night safeguarded them from theft, and also provided a source of heat in the winter.

• Mary gives birth (alone)

The notion of Mary giving birth alone, with only Joseph to assist, is a pious tradition but is completely alien to cultural practice. In any village, other women, including the village midwife, assisted the birth-mother with the delivery and care for the newborn. The men would be excluded — and probably send out of the house.

• Arriving as a stranger, being alone and unprepared, the best Mary can do is wrap her baby in swaddling clothes

Swaddling clothes was the norm for newborn babies; it kept them warm and safe. The practice continues in some areas to this day. Although travelers would not have everything needed for the birth of a baby, the women of the village certainly would and their hospitality would provide for everything that was needed.

• The only place she has to put the baby is in a manger

In the split-level home described above, a practical way to provide for the animals was to cut a trough into the floor on the raised family level, so a family’s cow could simply stand and reach down to eat the forage in the manger. Alternatively, there might be a raised box filled with forage for a sheep to eat from during the night. Absent having a crib at hand, such a safe, comfortable, dry place (undoubtedly filled with fresh straw) would make an ideal place to place a newborn. [It should also be noted that the manger – used for feeding – serves a strongly symbolic function. It prefigures Jesus’ feeding the crowds during his ministry, and, most significantly, his action at the Last Supper, when he takes bread and wine, blesses them with the words, “Take and eat: this is my body, this is my blood.”]

Putting this perspective together, the Christmas story, the story more likely unfolded in this way:

Joseph goes to his ancestral home town of Bethlehem. He identifies himself to those who live in Bethlehem, who recognize him as a descendent of King David and is graciously welcomed by relatives of his extended family. The guest room is already taken, so he and Mary are welcomed into the family home. When it becomes clear that Mary will soon give birth, the mid-wife is sent for and the women gather in the home to assist. Joseph and the men are sent out of the house until after the birth. Jesus is born; the women immediately clean him, wrap him in cloth and place him in a manger filled with fresh straw to keep him comfortable and warm. Immediately, the news begins to spread throughout the town of this birth ….

Welcome, hospitality, kindness, sharing, support, practical help, family, community, good news, rejoicing: isn’t this how we would like to think we would have responded if Joseph had knocked on our door? Are not these the very things we value most at Christmas? Doesn’t this the welcome that our hearts offer Christ at Christmas?

• The shopping season, which began around Halloween?
• The Christmas decorating/display season, which began immediately after Thanksgiving (except for some businesses [see shopping season above] which put up Christmas displays before Halloween and those decorators who skipped Thanksgiving decorations and went right to the Christmas displays after Halloween) and will continue until December 27 (since Christmas is on Saturday this year) or perhaps January 3 (since New Year’s is also on Saturday) [except for those who take down the Christmas tree on the evening of Christmas]?
• The “holiday season,” which certainly began with Thanksgiving – or perhaps right after Halloween (see “shopping season” above) – and will continue until New Year’s (or, since January 1 is on Saturday this year, perhaps through Sunday, January 2)?
• The “Christmas music” and “Christmas (or “Holiday”) Concert” season which began on Thanksgiving (except for some businesses [see shopping season above] which began Christmas music this year before Halloween) and will continue through Christmas (or, perhaps because Christmas is on Saturday this year, through Sunday, December26)?
• The “Christmas (or “Holiday”) Party (or Social)” season which began just after Thanksgiving and will continue through Sunday, December 26?
• The Advent Season? For Catholics and other Christians who follow the liturgical calendar, this is the Advent season, comprised of the four Sundays before Christmas, a time of preparation for the Feast of Christmas and the Christmas season. This year, Advent is almost four full weeks. The Christmas season does not begin until the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, December 24; it will continue until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 9.

 To keep the liturgical season is very counter-cultural. In the United States, the culture begins celebrating a holiday early. The holiday itself is both the high point and also the end point of the celebration. In the U.S., as soon as Thanksgiving is over, the celebrations for Christmas begin – and continue through Christmas. On December 26, people ask, “How was your Christmas?” Note the tense – “was” – Christmas is over. It is acceptable to have Christmas gatherings for a few days after Christmas (especially with relatives and friends that you could not fit in before Christmas or on Christmas), but soon those become “New Year’s” gatherings. For those who keep the liturgical season, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are just the beginning of the Christmas season.

This presents serious timing issues:

• Churches start decorating for Christmas just before Christmas Eve; in the culture, Christmas decorations have been in place for weeks;
• Christmas Carols (religious) begin to be sung on Christmas Eve; Christmas music largely disappears from the media and public spaces (concert halls, schools, stores, nursing homes and other care facilities) by the day after Christmas;
• Churches are beginning to tell the “Christmas story” from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew – the journey to Bethlehem, the birth, the angels, the shepherds, (Christmas) the star, the magi, (Epiphany), the innocents – but all the Christmas specials and holiday movies are broadcast by Christmas evening;
• Apart from the special dishes for Christmas Eve supper and Christmas dinner, most Christmas “treats” no longer feel very special – they have been available for weeks at all the Christmas/holiday parties and socials;
• Christmas greetings likewise feel stale – we’ve been hearing “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy Holidays!” for weeks;
• Even gift-giving quickly fades: people quickly focus on the After-Christmas and End-of-the-Year sales.

As pervasive as the celebration of Christmas before the day is in our culture, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to completely “tune out” and ignore the season until the Vigil Christmas arrives.

What, then, can someone who wants to celebrate the Advent season and then the Christmas season to do?

 It really comes down to focus, choices and planning: focus on Advent, make choices to wait for Christmas and make your plans to celebrate Christmas during the Christmas season.

 Focus on Advent:

• Respect the Advent season as its own special time, a time of waiting and preparing, a time to “prepare the way of the Lord”
• Use the symbols of Advent: the Advent wreath, the Jesse Tree, the Advent calendar. Make them prominent decorations in your house. Use them daily.
• Celebrate the feasts of Advent: St. Nicholas (December 6), Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12), St. Lucy (December 13), Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent), the Posadas (Journey to Bethlehem)
• Keep the final week before Christmas (December 17-23). There are specially assigned readings for each day. The Church uses one of the “O” Antiphons each day (the basis for “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”)

 Make Choices to wait for Christmas:

• Delay putting up Christmas decorations until close to Christmas. If it is necessary to decorate earlier in the Advent season, hold back some decorations until close to Christmas.
• When setting up the Christmas crèche, set Mary and Joseph on a “journey to Bethlehem” throughout the room (or house). Do not place the infant in the manger until Christmas Eve.
• As much as possible, limit your exposure to Christmas carols and Christmas programs before Christmas. Record those programs broadcast during Advent, so that you can view them during the Christmas season.
• Emphasize the “getting ready” aspect of Advent to prepare for Christmas and the Christmas celebration.
• Prepare Christmas cards during Advent, but mail-give-send them to arrive during the Christmas season (they are also more likely to be looked at/read then).

 Planning to celebrate Christmas during the Christmas season:

• Celebrate the birth of Christ: not Christmas gifts, not Santa Claus, not family gatherings, not Christmas traditions, but the birth of Christ and the coming of our salvation. Christmas Eve Mass, Midnight Mass, Christmas Day Mass. There are actually four Masses for Christmas (Vigil Mass, Mass at Midnight, Mass at Dawn, Mass during the Day).
• Make a ceremony of placing Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve
• As much as possible, plan Christmas socials and parties for during the Christmas season, rather than before. Make the suggestion both for work and family gatherings
• Keep family and personal Christmas traditions
• Play – and sing – Christmas carols throughout the season
• Watch the previously recorded Christmas specials
• Rather than pack Christmas activities into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, celebrate Christmas with something special each day: visiting friends, special foods, going to see the Christmas lights/decorations in the neighborhood/community
• Celebrate the Epiphany as its own feast. This is an ideal day for traveling to visit family or friends and for giving gifts.
• Enjoy Christmas decorations throughout the Christmas season. Do not remove them until the Epiphany (at least) or (ideally) the Baptism of the Lord

 However, this is not the lead story for the Catholic Church of Cleveland.

 On December 2, 2010, the lead story for the Catholic Church in Cleveland is the 30^th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Cleveland Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel and Ms. Jean Donovan of the Cleveland Diocese Mission Team in El Salvador, along with Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke. This, too, is a national and international story, including Catholic News Service and Vatican Radio.

 On the night of December 2, 1980, Sister Dorothy Kazel and lay missioner Jean Donovan drove to the La Libertad airport to pick up Maryknoll Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, who were returning from a regional Maryknoll conference in Nicaragua. Five Salvadorian National Guardsmen stopped their van, abducted, interrogated, physically and sexually abused and shot them. The next morning they were found buried in a common, shallow grave, marked with a cross of two branches.

 A large contingent of Clevelanders has travelled to El Salvador to join the members of the Cleveland Mission Team, Maryknoll Sisters, Salvadorans and people from all over the world for the memorial services there. Among the Cleveland contingent is Sr. Mary Kay Conkey OSU, a staff member at Urban Community School who lives at St. Malachi Convent. Sr. Dorothy Kazel spent her last night in Cleveland at that convent. Jean Donovan, although not a member of the Community of St. Malachi, attended Mass at St. Malachi before she joined the Cleveland Mission Team.

The Gospel for Thursday of the First Week of Advent (Mt 7:21, 24-27) is most appropriate for these churchwomen. Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (v.21)  In November, 1980 – less than a month before her death – Sr. Dorothy wrote of El Salvador that it is a country “writhing in pain – a country that daily faces the loss of so many of its people – and yet a country that is waiting, hoping, yearning for peace. The steadfast faith and courage our leaders have to continue preaching the Word of the Lord even though it may mean ‘laying down your life’ in the very REAL sense is always a point of admiration and a vivid realization that JESUS is HERE with us. Yes, we have a sense of waiting, hoping, and yearning for a complete realization of the Kingdom, and yet we know it will come because we can celebrate Him here right now.”

As the violence in El Salvador increased, and especially after the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero in March, 1980, the missionaries had the opportunity to leave the country and come home. Many people believed they should. Just two weeks before she was killed, Jean Donovan wrote, “Several times I have decided to leave El Salvador. I almost could except for the children, the poor bruised victims of this insanity. Who would care for them? Whose heart would be so staunch as to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their tears and helplessness. Not mine, dear friend, not mine.” (both quotations from the InterReligious Task Force on Central America, [which was founded in response to the killings of the churchwomen], http://www.irtfcleveland.org/about/churchwomenbiographies.shtml)

Matthew’s Gospel continues with Jesus’ words, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (v. 24)

In Catholic tradition, there is no more powerful witness than martyrdom. In the canonization process, a candidate’s life is first investigated and reviewed to demonstrate that person’s virtue and holiness of life. However, before the Church beatifies (declares “Blessed,” the final step before being canonized a Saint) a person, it requires proof of a miracle (i.e. something not explainable by scientific or other means, usually a medical cure of an incurable illness) obtained through the documented intercession of the candidate for beatification. There is one exception – the beatification of someone recognized as a martyr. Martyrdom is itself considered the equivalent of a miracle, because it is only through the strength of God’s grace that a person can persevere through their suffering and remain faithful until death. In the language of the Gospel, “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” (v. 25) – “and the rock is Christ” (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4)

Thirty years later, the story of their faithfulness until death continues to bear witness to the power of God’s love and grace in the lives of people in our midst. Media attention or not, it is the enduring story for this day.

 When life is going not so well, when we are suffering or struggling – or when people we care about are suffering or struggling, it becomes much harder to find reasons to be thankful. Sometimes, a person can only be thankful “because it could be worse.”

 Our faith teaches us that God is present at every moment and every situation in life, good or bad. God’s grace and love is always at work, whether we feel or perceive it or not. It is usually easier to recognize it when we experience something as good, but faith tells us God is there, in love and compassion even when what we’re going through feels very, very bad. Even then, there is a blessing.

 Many years ago, I came across this passage, which has always held great meaning for me, especially in hard times:

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see – and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard. Remove the covering and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power.

 Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angel’s hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

Fra Giovanni Giocondo, 1513

 All is gift. May you truly look — and see all the gift this Thanksgiving.