Reflection on the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas Eve 2011 ~ by Phyllis Booth

The Nativity of the Lord (Midnight)

Is 9:1-6
Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13 (Luke 2:11)
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14

The long awaited coming of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem changed the world. The long period of darkness was lifted. The Light had come to fulfill the prophets' message. The people of Israel longing for a Savior were over! Jesus had come as God promised to reconcile the world. He came to change a history of separation between God and the people God loved. God wanted to release us from the prison of sin, fear, guilt, hatefulness, and the constant fighting and killing of each other.

Jesus' birth brought a new culture to the world. This Savior would bring the Word of God to all people. The Words from God would be words of love. These words of God would be seen through actions. Jesus taught the disciples to love one another. The disciples showed love as they experienced the new way of treating their neighbor. The early Christians believed it was their duty to live a life of love of self and neighbor.

God's love can be seen in the way we act, think, pray, show emotions, how we help one another, feed the poor and clothe the naked, and work for justice. Millions of people are working for justice today under difficult circumstances because they believe God loves us and he'll keep the covenant made years ago.


~ Image: Kissing the face of God by Morgan Weistling

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church ~ Christmas 2011

Please congratulate Barbara and Larry Williford for their labor of love in making our church look so beautiful for this Christmas season. It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare the decorations and to put everything in its place. We are also grateful to Nancy Freeman for setting up her unusual Nativity scene that you will find in the rear of the church.

~ Photographs taken by Larry Williford

"And the Word was made flesh..." (John 1:14) ~ Christmas 2011

Every Grace and Blessing to each of you this day.


~ Black Madonna and Child by Joe Cauchi

Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord! ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent (B) ~ by Ronnie Archer

Fourth Sunday of Advent (B)

2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Ps 89:2-3-5, 27, 29
Rom 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38

This Sunday marked Fr. Francois' 21st anniversary of becoming a servant of the Lord! Fr. Dan Brady of St. Michael's concelebrated Mass with Fr. Francois. Fr. Dan tied today's Gospel to the fact that twenty-one years ago, Fr. Francois also said, "yes, I am a servant of the Lord"... not having any idea of where it might lead him.

In our first reading for this Sunday, God replies to King David's message concerning his plan to build a permanent house for the Ark of God...instead of having to continue to be "housed" in a tent. God's message in this was that He was the One who destroyed all their enemies and brought them out of Egypt and promised to continue to shield them from any future enemies. He would establish a house for them. Because of the greatness of God, He did not need a "house" to dwell in.

St. Paul writes to the Romans that "according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, and according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for so long," (Rom 15:25) that now God's plans for all people would now be manifested.

Fr. Dan gave a very powerful homily on the gospel of St. Luke. We have heard of those who don't quite understand the practice of the Catholic Church in having such a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We honor mothers in our own lives and also the mother of someone in our midst who is an important figure. To honor Mary is of utmost importance and very fitting since She is the Mother of our God!

Each year we honor Mary on December 8th, which is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, meaning that She was conceived without the original sin that we all were born with. God chose her from the beginning and Mary made a choice. She was not forced to say "yes", but she did, and that moment changed the world forever. Mary, herself, had to say the word yes, and she did so by saying..."Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) Mary was agreeing to become a "servant of the Lord", not having any idea of what that might mean for her, but she trusted God and said yes.

Will we say yes also?... by saying "I am a servant of the Lord!"



~ Image: The Annunciation by John Collier

The "O Antiphons" of Advent

The "O" Antiphons of Advent

Beginning today, December 17th, and ending on December 23rd, folks who daily recite "The Liturgy of the Hours" will find themselves praying the great "O" Antiphons. Each day during the next seven days, a different name describing Christ found in the Old Testament is used during Evening Prayer or Vespers.

Here they are:

December 17 - O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other mightily, and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.

December 18 - O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

December 19 - O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

December 20 - O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, Isaiah had prophesied.

December 21 - O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

December 22 - O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

December 23 - O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.


If you wish to read more about these Antiphons, please check the Wikipedia article found here.


~ Image from Everyday Liturgy

Reflection on the Third Sunday of Advent (B) ~ Gaudete Sunday

Gaudete Sunday

Is 61:1-2a, 10-11
Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 (Is 61:10b)
1 Thes 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Rejoice! God is alive! This is the message of the readings for today. In the beautiful Isaiah reading, we hear the joyous words of God's anointed one who will bring glad tidings to the poor, who will heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives and bring release to prisoners. All of these are attributes of a Messiah to come.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds his converts not to quench the Spirit, but to pray unceasingly and to give thanks for every blessing. Paul prays that God will make these men and women perfectly holy so that they will be blameless when Jesus comes again. So we see that in both the Old and the New Testaments, people were waiting and hoping for the arrival of Jesus... either for his birth or his coming at the end of time.

Now the scene shifts to John's Gospel which describes the uncertainty that the priests and Levites felt concerning John the Baptizer who had accumulated a large following and who was baptizing them with water... Could he be the long-awaited Messiah?

But no, John admitted immediately that he was not the Christ. In fact, John was aware that he was "the voice of one crying in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord" as Isaiah had predicted. He realized that he was not worthy even to untie the strap of the sandal of the one who was to come and he told this to his questioners.

In these final two weeks of Advent, we can rejoice that our Savior will soon arrive... We will commemorate his coming birth and we also look to the future when Jesus will come again in glory. The Virgin Mary, soon to be a mother, rejoices because God has blessed her for all ages. We can praise our God with the same words that she spoke: "The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name." (Luke 1:49)

He has done great things for us too! And for them, we rejoice!

Kayden Chita's Baptism ~ November 13, 2011

The Chita family has provided some beautiful pictures of Kayden Chita's Baptism that took place at St. Elizabeth's on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at the 9 o'clock Mass.

We bid welcome to our newest parishioner!

Somebody is coming! ~ A Reflection on the Second Sunday of Advent (B)

Second Sunday of Advent (B)

Is 40:1-5, 9-11
Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8

Isaiah sets the stage in the first reading by declaring to all the people: "...prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!" (Is 40:3)

It is a time of joy for the people, for God has proclaimed that their guilt is expiated and their sins forgiven. Though God will come with power, he will gather his people with the tenderness that a shepherd cares for his lambs...

In the Gospel reading, Mark introduces John the Baptizer, who is to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. John has the distinction of being the final prophet and he proclaims a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom. John wishes to make certain that his followers do not think he is the Messiah and so he preaches that a mightier one than he is coming; One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit!

In the second reading, we hear once more about the final coming of the Lord. We cannot know when it will occur because God's time is not like our time. Thus we need to be prepared. We recognize that we are sinners and in need of God's mercy. Jesus frees us from the prison of sin and helps us to use this time of Advent to get our house in order and to live in harmony with others. We place ourselves in the shoes of the other person; because by doing so, we can do nothing other than show our compassion for them... This is what Jesus taught and lived... and we are to do the same.


~ Image: John the Baptist Bearing Witness by Annibale Caracci. c. 1600

What goes around, comes around! ~ A Reflection

Don't miss this!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DXL9vIUbWg