Christmas Greeting 2008

Dearly beloved in Christ,
I wish to convey my Christmas blessings to you and thank you for allowing me to visit with you throughout the year. Our visits in person or over the phone have been the delight of my life and I treasure each and every moment. Each day I rise from sleep and I look forward to interacting with the people that God sends my way. I do so enjoy visiting with you and hearing of your joys and aspirations and yes to shed a tear with you as you encounter life’s setbacks. As I encounter life’s experiences with you as a spiritual father, may you be even more keenly aware of the presence of our Lord God through his Holy Scripture, which is my privilege to proclaim to you; and through the prayers I offer for you. Let us praise our Lord for his sublime love and mercy. In the fullness of time, God himself in Christ Jesus came to dwell with us and share life with us. He came to spend a period of time visiting with us, walking, talking, eating, laughing, praying, crying and dying with us and for us. Because of this when we cry he cries with us. When we sing and pray we sing and pray with him. When we laugh, he has laughed with us. When we die, he has died for us and rose from the dead; ascended into eternity that he may lead us to eternity by the path which he has prepared for us. That is quite a lot to stuff into one small package lying in a manger. In fact he was the embodiment of Omnipotence bound in swaddling clothes. He was Omniscience embodied in an infant who had to grow and develop. This occasion marks the entrance of the Everlasting to Everlasting into the space of a single calendar day and a life lived in Judea during the first century. Hail to the Son of God begotten from all eternity and born of the Virgin Mary. During this Christmas season (starting at 6PM Christmas Eve on December 24- Epiphany on January 6th) let us set aside times to ponder this incarnational mystery that the Almighty God the Creator of all that is has joined his creation to journey with us and work our redemption.
Blessings+
Father Daniel

P.S. For a brief Christmas meditation watch Aled Jones, in this (then and now) video singing O Holy Night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aP2FMuvwkk

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Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra

On this December the 6th we remember and give thanks for the life and ministry of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. In the 4th century city of Myra in what is now modern day Turkey, there lived a devout and generous Christian by the name of Nicholas. As a young man his parents died and left to him a large inheritance. He gave it to those who were in need and he gave himself to prayer and living out his Christian faith. At a young age he was elected as Bishop of Myra; because of his youth he was called the boy bishop. In spite of this perception, he ministered valiantly as a man of God. Saint Nicholas is remembered around the world to this day, serving as a concrete representation of the abstract goodness and love which we all desire and long for. The only thing more enduring than his reputation is his message. Let us look to the message of Saint Nicholas and find the source of all goodness and love incarnate in the tangible and very real Son of God, Christ Jesus born to redeem mankind.

Blessings+

Father Daniel

P.S.

To read more about Santa Claus throughout history, click here: http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/christmas/santa/