I hope you’ll forgive a fairly late AND brief pastor’s notes this week. I chose this image from NASA – it speaks to the crazy (wonderful though it has been!) of this week. Between the Immaculate Conception, driving to the Palisades (and back) for a priest retreat day (230+ miles!), Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations (starting at 6 am and getting home around 8 pm), and Simbang Gabi tonight, it has been a veritable whirlwind. I suspect I am not alone in looking forward to a good night’s rest when this week & weekend is over – it may sound strange, but I think Christmas Masses will be a breeze in comparison!
In any case, with all the feasts this week, I hope you’ve had wonderful celebrations yourself. And if you can, come to the Simbang Gabi Masses this weekend at Queen of Angels & Saint Mary Star of the Sea!
December 9 – Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, transferred from its normal day of December 8th. This day holds a bit of a special place in my heart, though I couldn’t exactly tell you why. There’s something about meditating on how the plan of God so intimately includes humanity that He allows it to hinge on our freely choosing it – starting with the Blessed Mother. Saint Bernard has a lovely reflection on the moment between Gabriel’s announcement and Mary’s response – it is the second reading from the Office of Readings on December 20th. I highly recommend it, and you can use the options page of iBreviary to fast-forward to it ahead of time!
December 10 – Every month has at least one celebration of Mary, but December has a few! Today is the memorial of Our Lady of Loreto. There are some neat traditions about the Shrine of Loreto and how the house of Mary (where Gabriel announced his good news) was transported there from Nazareth. I think you’ll especially appreciate why Our Lady of Loreto is the patron saint of air travellors (the Church’s humor fully on display)! Read more at the Vatican City State website.
December 12 – Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The day began early at our parishes with mananitas – a traditional Mexican birthday song that is sung to wake up the birthday person, in this case Mary! Following that hour or so of singing, we gathered for pan dulce (sweet breads) and coffee before going on with our day. But in the evening, we returned to church for a procession with the image of the Blessed Mother – though that was foiled by the rain (so we had a rosary inside instead) – before celebrating Mass together. The day was concluded with an extraordinary feast in the parish hall. Check out Pope Saint John Paul II’s homily from when he visited the Basilica of Guadalupe in 1979.
December 13 – In addition to being the memorial of Saint Lucy, today is the 50th anniversary of Pope Francis’ priesthood! Ordained just before his 33rd birthday, Pope Francis started as a priest with the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1969, consecrated a bishop in 1992, and made a cardinal in 2001 before becoming pope in 2013. Let us pray for Pope Francis – ad multos annos! Read more at the Vatican News website.
December 14 – Today is the memorial of Saint John of the Cross – of particular interest to our parishioners who are third order Carmelites! A Spanish priest and Carmelite friar, Saint John of the Cross is one of the most well-known mystics of our faith. He is perhaps most famous for his Dark Night of the Soul. Read more about him at Word on Fire.
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
- Rev. Clarence E. Jones (December 8, 1994)
- Rev. James D. Picton (December 13, 1975)
Remembering our deceased priests
- Fr. John B. Collins (December 9, 1979)
- Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald (December 9, 1957)
- Fr. Franklin Lott (December 9, 2001)
- Fr. John Clark (December 10, 1998)
- Fr. Edmond J. Kearney (December 10, 1993)
- Fr. Stanton Boyle (December 11, 1979)
- Fr. John Donohoe (December 11, 1999)
- Fr. Lawrence O. Low (December 12, 2000)
- Fr. Leonard Rafalowski (December 13, 1999)
- Fr. Robert Dillion (December 14, 1970)
- Msgr. Daniel A. Hanly (December 14, 1944)
- Fr. Dennis Muehe (December 14, 1994)
I love all the feast days and simbang gabi i love. Enjoy Father
Remembering with fondness Fr Rafalowski (Fr Raf). He spent retirement serving at St Mary’s Port Townsend with Fr Heffernan. After Fr Raf’s passing, Fr Heffernan received many of Fr Raf’s possession, including his 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours. On Fr Heffernan’s passing, the volumes came to Deacon Peter.