From My Rectory Window

“Peek-a-boo! I see you” We had the happiness of having a toddler who is the grand daughter of Hilde our housekeeper whose family visited us in the rectory this past Christmas Day, and of course little ones bring their own brand of wonder joy and curiosity. They want to see everything immediately. Well, I got the chance to tryout my peek-a-boo skills with this little one, and I am happy to report that my quest to amuse was indeed successful and was rewarded with a beautiful baby smile and two twinkling eyes filled with delight. It is like the light of the Christmas Star so bright and full of wonderful innocence. The word Epiphany indicates a revealing or uncovering of something or someone great and wonderful. Unless one puts on the lights you can’t see all that can be seen. And until one puts all worldly concerns in perspective, then we can’t sense the supernatural, as our ability to be awed is “on hold”. Part of our problem as modern folks is that we are so distracted by the cares and worries of life that we can’t see “the forest for the trees”. Sure the problems are real! But once we have acknowledged them and done what we could to make things better then we should not make them the focus of our existence. There were some in our parish community who had a really hard and perhaps sad Christmas because of a recent death or illness or of difficulty with family members who don’t behave well when the family gathers, or who won’t speak to another because of some offense. Yes, all this is difficult and painful. But all of this, tough as it may be must not obscure the light which faith in Christ brings. If we allow the light of Christ to lead us, then we can journey through all the rough and craggy mountains and valleys of life’s path until we reach the vision of God. The ancient hymn to Our Lady: “Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina) was written by Blessed Herman the Cripple (1012-1054) a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Reichemau in Germany.

He was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and who ultimately went blind. (And we think we have problems!) His parents couldn’t care for him and so they gave him up to the monks of the Abbey to raise. At the age of twenty he became a member of the Benedictine community. To everyone’s complete amazement he was found to be a genius by his fellow monks. He studied astronomy, theology, mathematics, history, poetry, and music along with learning Arabic, Greek and Latin. But he is most famous for the “Hail Holy Queen” which many folks say daily. Perhaps not knowing that the author of this prayer knew exactly what it meant to go through “hac lacrimarium vale” (this valley of tears), but his focus was always on the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb: Jesus. When those “star struck” Magi brought the now famous and amazingly impractical gifts for a baby to the Holy Family, little did they know their own prophetic role in helping to reveal the “vocation” of the Christ Child. Gold for a king, Frankincense for God, Myrrh for his burial in the tomb to await his Resurrection after His descent among the dead. Take a look at the verses of “We Three Kings” and see if you don’t find the whole life of Christ in each line. I always like to have the whole hymn sung for this reason as it teaches and tells a story. Like a delighted child, may we all become amazed with this “Star of wonder, star of night, star of royal beauty bright,” guiding us to that perfect light. Because Mother Seton’s feast day (January 4th) falls on Epiphany Sunday, it will be transferred to January 6th this year in our parish with special observances. Please consult the bulletin. Wishing you all a blessed Epiphany and of course a happy Parish Name Day. Joining you in celebrating “little Christmas”

Your Pastor & your servant: Fr. Pat Papalia