December 4 , 2005

Dear friends in life and in ministry,

Its a snowy Sunday afternoon in Bath, New York as I begin this weekly communication. The last few days have included a whirlwind of activities both ministerial and recreational.

Friday began with a funeral in Bath, continued with a nursing home sing-a-long Friday afternoon, and ended at dinner with Pat in a Japanese Steak House. An important regional meeting of Catholic parishes on Saturday morning, a Church Family gathering at 2 p.m. and Family Mass at 4 p.m. (at which I preached with the help of both Santa Claus and St.
Nicholas,) another homily at St. Gabriel's in Hammondsport and an annual Sparkle of Christmas Party at the home of friends very adequately prepared me to "veg" out with a TV movie before hitting the sack around midnight.

This morning's schedule has already included Mass and preaching in Bath and Hammondsport. But after a quick nap and light dinner, Pat and I will attend a performance of Handle's Messiah at Keuka College near Penn Yan.

Thank God its Advent - a time of quiet preparation for the Coming of Christ. Monday's my day off and I'll probably try to find another quiet day for prayer with a friend later in the week.Gottapractice what I preachonce ina while.

My column this weekend includes some thoughts on Advent and the coming of Winter that I purloined from Fr. Ed Palumbos' bulletin and some amazing stories of generosity sent to me by a parishioner.

Blessings to all . . .

Ray

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December 4 , 2005

Advent and the Coming of Winter

Over the past few months we have witnessed the change in color of our leaves and the Fall harvest of fruits and vegetables in abundance. The death of fallen leaves, reminds us of a simple and yet profound lesson. All Summer long the leaves had been there catching the sun, providing shade and mostly going unnoticed, taken for granted. Suddenly in Fall they become a blaze of gold, red, orange. People stop to admire them and the beautiful of the Fall season. The color had been there all Summer long, but was hidden by the leaves’ chemistry. Now what was hidden came into full view and what a show! But now it is December and this beauty has yielded to Winter’s cold arrival.

The challenge Jesus placed before His disciples and before all of us is: to find God in the ordinary, to be grateful and to be thankful for the almost invisible parts of our daily lives where God has been lurking all
along. For God is present in every heart beat and breath, in every
encounter; and in the annoying little brother and the demanding big sister, and the irritating neighbor, the inattentive spouse, the cashier with an attitude, the inconsiderate driver as well as in those moments in which we are affirmed, supported, appreciated and thanked. God is present in every moment if we but have the eyes to see and the ears to be attentive.

Attentiveness is what Advent is all about - a time to help us all to become more aware of the presence of God lurking everywhere. Advent is a time of anticipation and expectation of the Christmas joy that comes from knowing
that God is in our midst. This Advent, lets focus on allowing God to
comfort us and take away our fears as we wait in joyful expectation for the coming of Christ.

What Christian Charity Looks Like

While millions of Americans lazily begin working off the calories from a big turkey dinner, as others launch furious assaults on the local shopping malls, the New Orleans Times-Picayune gives this humbling report from a country where things are a bit different:

The Kireka slum clings to a stony hillside above Kampala, Uganda, home to at least 5,000 impoverished refugees who live in hand-fashioned shelters bordered by outdoor latrines. The hillside is not only home, but work: Strip quarries line its face. Men dig out its larger rocks, while hundreds of women spend their days in stooped manual labor, pounding the rocks by hand into walnut-sized stones for sale as construction material. They earn about $1.20 per day.

So American aid worker Amy Cunningham could scarcely believe it when she was summoned to Kireka last month for a festive celebration in which dozens of women handed over nearly $900 in wages: their gift to victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The story by Bruce Nolan goes on to tell about the AIDS epidemic that is scouring Uganda, the civil war that is killing women and children and stopping relief shipments. And this:

In a country where the average annual income is about $300, Archbishop John Baptist Odama raised $500 over several weeks among Catholics in northern Uganda in special collections for New Orleans relief...

Speaking of Generosity and Gratitude. . .

Heard from Betty Langendorfer on Sunday afternoon. She writes: “I just finished reading your homily on Gratitude and found it very inspirational. Anyone needing a lesson in gratitude should come down to New Orleans area and see the widespread destruction. Hope all is well in Bath.”

Have a good week. Serve one another well.

I pray that you will enjoy this visit, and if you like,
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