Everyone has a guilty pleasure. Mine is a television show called "Once Upon A Time." Outside of sporting events, it's the only program I watch on TV.
In the first season, all these fairy tale characters live under a curse that has banished them to a life in our world. While that in itself may not be so bad, they also have no memories of their lives in the Enchanted Forest. Basically, they don't know who they are. There is no hope in the hollow lives they have been forced to live.
But at the end of the first season, they all regain their old memories while still retaining their memories from their lives in our world. Not only do they know who they are but now their identities have been enhanced by an enormous amount and diversity of life experiences. They become more complete than they ever have been before. There is hope.
It's not all a bed of roses, however. Some characters feel ripped off, as if their lives had been stolen from them. Remembering everything does not necessarily make all the wrong things become right. Some would have preferred not to remember that they once had a life that may never be completely restored.
But at least they know who they are. Regaining their memories has been a healing process. Healing can be painful and thus hard to swallow. But now their lives have direction and a purpose. There is hope.
Nehemiah 8: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Conference Championship weekend (NFL)
For those of you who watch the National Football League playoffs, you are aware that Conference Championship weekend is behind us and in the books. I will resist the temptation to comment on the outcomes themselves. Nevertheless, this is the cream of the crop we see on the field for any given NFL game. Anybody who has grown up in the United States knows just how huge American Football is in high schools. I reckon it would be particularly huge in places like the South and the Midwest. Imagine how many thousands of boys play football and make their way through their respective high school teams. Each year thousands upon thousands of football players graduate and just about every one is replaced by a crop of new faces every year. Now consider that the NFL probably has only about 1500 players on active rosters. To skew it even further, this particular weekend generally involves the teams most heavily loaded with talent, as if the NFL isn't already heavily skewed with extreme talent.
But this talent still comes in many forms. Defensive coaches constantly move players around according to what kind of play they anticipate their opponent to run. Who covers which receiver? Who covers the tight ends? Do we drop linebackers into coverage? Do we bring the secondary forward toward the line of scrimmage? Do we play zone or man? Do we play inside/underneath on an anticipated pass play to severely limit yardage (while risking giving up a big play) or do we play over the top to prevent the big play (while potentially giving up a first down on shorter yardage plays). Offensive coaches try to run or change where they put players based upon where they are on the field, how they're doing on downs, and on yardage remaining for the next first down, as well as certain formations they either are seeing or have been seeing from the opposing defense. In other words, in spite of them all being the elite amongst the elite, different players could have very different characteristics. Different strengths, different specialties, different roles. But those on the same team are all working toward one common goal - the championship.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
But this talent still comes in many forms. Defensive coaches constantly move players around according to what kind of play they anticipate their opponent to run. Who covers which receiver? Who covers the tight ends? Do we drop linebackers into coverage? Do we bring the secondary forward toward the line of scrimmage? Do we play zone or man? Do we play inside/underneath on an anticipated pass play to severely limit yardage (while risking giving up a big play) or do we play over the top to prevent the big play (while potentially giving up a first down on shorter yardage plays). Offensive coaches try to run or change where they put players based upon where they are on the field, how they're doing on downs, and on yardage remaining for the next first down, as well as certain formations they either are seeing or have been seeing from the opposing defense. In other words, in spite of them all being the elite amongst the elite, different players could have very different characteristics. Different strengths, different specialties, different roles. But those on the same team are all working toward one common goal - the championship.
1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
Monday, January 14, 2013
Renewal
Apparently, it is still the Christmas season - barely. I thought Christmas had 12 days, although the song "12 Days of Christmas" was really just a covert way to teach the ways of the Catholic faith to children in Catholic families at a time and place when and where having any written material of the sort was forbidden. But I still honestly believed that Christmas was 12 days. I mean, we have "12th night" for a reason, right? But then why did my parish have elaborate Christmas decorations still intact? And why did the Roman missal refer to this Sunday as part of the "Season of Christmas?"
Well, I was not completely wrong. This Sunday is a feast day known as the "Baptism of the Lord." For those of you Cliff's Notes types who know the Gospel story mostly based upon Rosary Mysteries, this would be the 1st Luminous Mystery. Early on there's the Nativity. The presentation in the temple comes a few days later. The finding of the child Jesus comes a few years later. The Baptism of our Lord takes place when He is about 30 years of age. In other words, it comes well after the birth of Jesus or the visitation by the foreign kings.
Also, this feast day is not always on a Sunday. Sometimes it is just a weekday Mass on the Monday right after Epiphany Sunday. In this case, the Christmas Season would be long gone before the Sunday after Epiphany comes around. When the feast does fall on a Sunday, like this year, it represents part of the Season of Christmas but is also known as the "1st Sunday in Ordinary Time." So it is a transition. Out with the old and in with the new. Renewal. So I learn something new every day. Renewal. That's what Baptism is, by the way - renewal.
Jesus does not seem like one who needs any renewal. John the Baptist certainly would not think so. In John's mind, if Jesus were an important dignitary with a massive estate, John would have been the random dude who got chased off the property by Jesus's servants on account of being too "sketchy." But Jesus is not like that (nor are most of His servants). Jesus went ahead and got Baptised by John, even though it seemed well below His stature in the eyes of many. But this was merely a testament to his humility, courage, and openness to follow His true calling. Don't let anyone tell you what your true purpose in life is, even if your understanding of your true purpose seems to defy conventional wisdom. You may just be in need of a change or overhaul. A renewal.
Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22
Well, I was not completely wrong. This Sunday is a feast day known as the "Baptism of the Lord." For those of you Cliff's Notes types who know the Gospel story mostly based upon Rosary Mysteries, this would be the 1st Luminous Mystery. Early on there's the Nativity. The presentation in the temple comes a few days later. The finding of the child Jesus comes a few years later. The Baptism of our Lord takes place when He is about 30 years of age. In other words, it comes well after the birth of Jesus or the visitation by the foreign kings.
Also, this feast day is not always on a Sunday. Sometimes it is just a weekday Mass on the Monday right after Epiphany Sunday. In this case, the Christmas Season would be long gone before the Sunday after Epiphany comes around. When the feast does fall on a Sunday, like this year, it represents part of the Season of Christmas but is also known as the "1st Sunday in Ordinary Time." So it is a transition. Out with the old and in with the new. Renewal. So I learn something new every day. Renewal. That's what Baptism is, by the way - renewal.
Jesus does not seem like one who needs any renewal. John the Baptist certainly would not think so. In John's mind, if Jesus were an important dignitary with a massive estate, John would have been the random dude who got chased off the property by Jesus's servants on account of being too "sketchy." But Jesus is not like that (nor are most of His servants). Jesus went ahead and got Baptised by John, even though it seemed well below His stature in the eyes of many. But this was merely a testament to his humility, courage, and openness to follow His true calling. Don't let anyone tell you what your true purpose in life is, even if your understanding of your true purpose seems to defy conventional wisdom. You may just be in need of a change or overhaul. A renewal.
Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Catholicism = Symptom of the Universe
Several years ago, during an RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) class, it was explained to me that "Catholic" means "universal." My classmates and I were not yet Catholic so we did not know much about the faith and therefore needed even the most basic things explained to us. It is pretty well-documented in the Old Testament that salvation would come from the Jews. Jesus states in the Gospels that He is the way, the truth, and the light. Salvation comes only through Him and He was, is, and ever shall be a Jew. So there you go.
This may not sound particularly "universal" now, would it? But it is. Salvation may only come from the Jews but it is open to anyone who seeks it, including Pagans - even KINGS of Pagans. But it is important to note that in order to receive, one must seek. In other words, it's not about where your origins lie but rather it's about where your heart is, your attitude. King Herod happened to be Jewish, if you could call a figurehead for the oppresive Roman Empire a true "Jew," but he had the wrong attitude, even going as far as trying to deceive those with noble intentions. On the other hand, the eastern kings were foreign to all Jewish people in every way yet they had the right attitude, even going through a great deal of trouble and potentially risking their lives to pay homage to a Jew.
The visitation by the eastern kings to pay homage to the King of Kings generally marks the end of the Christmas season. Traditionally, the 6th of January has been known as "12th Night" and the 7th has been the Feast of the Epiphany. Obviously, Epiphany falls on the nearest Sunday these days. But if you follow the traditional calendar and count the days, you will immediately see that the 6th of January would be the 14th night and that the 7th of January would be the 14th day of Christmas. So what gives?
The answer is simple. Just like in Lent, when counting days, you don't count Sundays. According to the old tradition, Saturday the 5th of January would be the 11th day of Christmas and Monday the 7th of January would be the 12th day of Christmas. "12th Night" would be Sunday night, the 6th of January. So why don't we count Sundays when counting days in special seasons? Well, I think it's because we're supposed to be good EVERY Sunday. No lyin', cheatin', or hurtin' - or your time is gonna come. As an erstwhile co-worker said to me one Sunday when I suggested in jest that we had more work left to do than we really did, "Lyin' on a Sunday?! Day-um!"
Matthew 2: 1-12
This may not sound particularly "universal" now, would it? But it is. Salvation may only come from the Jews but it is open to anyone who seeks it, including Pagans - even KINGS of Pagans. But it is important to note that in order to receive, one must seek. In other words, it's not about where your origins lie but rather it's about where your heart is, your attitude. King Herod happened to be Jewish, if you could call a figurehead for the oppresive Roman Empire a true "Jew," but he had the wrong attitude, even going as far as trying to deceive those with noble intentions. On the other hand, the eastern kings were foreign to all Jewish people in every way yet they had the right attitude, even going through a great deal of trouble and potentially risking their lives to pay homage to a Jew.
The visitation by the eastern kings to pay homage to the King of Kings generally marks the end of the Christmas season. Traditionally, the 6th of January has been known as "12th Night" and the 7th has been the Feast of the Epiphany. Obviously, Epiphany falls on the nearest Sunday these days. But if you follow the traditional calendar and count the days, you will immediately see that the 6th of January would be the 14th night and that the 7th of January would be the 14th day of Christmas. So what gives?
The answer is simple. Just like in Lent, when counting days, you don't count Sundays. According to the old tradition, Saturday the 5th of January would be the 11th day of Christmas and Monday the 7th of January would be the 12th day of Christmas. "12th Night" would be Sunday night, the 6th of January. So why don't we count Sundays when counting days in special seasons? Well, I think it's because we're supposed to be good EVERY Sunday. No lyin', cheatin', or hurtin' - or your time is gonna come. As an erstwhile co-worker said to me one Sunday when I suggested in jest that we had more work left to do than we really did, "Lyin' on a Sunday?! Day-um!"
Matthew 2: 1-12
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