Because we first heard Christmas stories as children, we can think of them as nursery tales; simple and unsophisticated remnants of our youth. Those which are found in the scriptures, however, are embedded in the Gospels and are mature, profound, and part of a sophisticated presentation. None more so than Luke.

Luke is a very thoughtful writer, and we must read him carefully and often to truly understand him. Only then will the interconnections be revealed and become real. Luke wrote both his Gospel and the “Acts of the Apostles”, and we must take them as a whole. After many readings the importance of the parable of the Sower becomes clear. Remember the story: a farmer planted his crop by casting seeds onto his field. Some fell on a path and were trampled, some on rocky ground or among thorns where they could not grow but others on good ground where they produced fruit a hundred-fold.

Continue reading “Homily – Mary, Mother of God (Fr. Smith)” →

Christmas is a time for tradition. Many of these traditions, both for family and church, were interrupted during the COVID pandemic, and although we are not yet fully recovered some will be brought back this year with proper care and diligence. For the Parish, the most wonderful return has been our Christmas Pageant with the children in the religious education program. If you did not see it, please check this link. I hope that many of us will have been able to visit family and enjoy other Christmas activities from trimming the tree to decorating the cake.

The liturgy, however, never takes a vacation and always allows us a special participation in the celebration of the Nativity. The music, the creche and the stories allow us every year to reflect on what it means that God became man. It has been said that tradition is the living faith of the dead and it certainly a pattern that is handed down to us. (See Footnote 1 below.) These customs should not be changed too radically. That would prevent us from making our Christian history our personal one as well. Every year we should approach these symbols and stories and sing these songs with a deeper understanding of the mysteries they proclaim. Year after year this allows us to see if we have grown in our faith and understanding.

Continue reading “Homily – Christmas (Fr. Smith)” →

Good morning, once again and Merry Christmas!

Like I said, so great to be with you today. And, you know, I’m sure I’m not the only person here, but when it comes to Christmas time, it’s pretty much impossible not to think about our childhood, to think about growing up with our childhood traditions.

I think Christmas and just the magic-ness of the whole time seems to be so reminiscent of our magical-ness of growing up, you know, where we were just caught up in wonder and mystery, caught up in just waiting to see what type of gifts we were going to receive on Christmas Day.

And of course, for me, I was kind of very much into setting things up.