CLARKS POINT CHRISTMAS: On Friday, December 17th, I was able to fly to Clarks Point for a Christmas Mass. It was an ecumenical celebration. The children put together a nativity scene puzzle and the adults who were not Catholic came forward for a blessing. Below, in the Gym at Clarks Point, children wait for the Mass to begin.
Clarks Point community members sing the opening Christmas song, "O Come all Ye Faithful." (December 17, 2010). We were fortunate to have the village elder Mun (bottom row third from the right), a 90 year old Yupik, attend the Mass.
CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE: During Christmas there will be a Christmas Eve Mass beginning at 7:30 PM, Friday, December 24th. There will be no Mass Saturday, Christmas Day. We will celebrate Mass on Sunday, December 26 at 12:30 PM (the Holy Family).
NATIVITY PLAY PRACTICE: Please come to the rehearsal for our Christmas Play. The rehearsal is for all children between the ages of three and eight. It will be at Holy Rosary Parish, Thursday, December 23rd, at 2:00 PM. Please call Bernina Venua for more info, 842-1275.
THANK YOU: Thanx to all who helped decorate the Church on Sunday. It looks wonderful.
AROUND THE MISSION: While in Clarks Point on Friday I lost all of my avionics. My engine was still running fine so I took off and flew the 12 miles to Dillingham. I am in the process of pinpointing the short. I also lost my GPS in Clarks Point. It fell out of my Pack. I had the whole town of Clarks looking for it. I finally found it under the pilots seat in the airplane.
HOLY ROSARY MISSION HATS: I ordered 30 more Holy Rosary hats today. Let me know if you are interested.
INTERNET DONATIONS: On our website we have a donation button. This last month I received two donations totaling $200. The Archdiocese of Anchorage is also developing some forms we can use so parishioners can donate on-line or directly to the bank, if they so choose to do so. There are people now who have never signed a check and will probably never have a checkbook.
GOSPEL: Our nativity scene and Christmas card portray the birth of Christ as very neat, clean, and tidy. Most of my Christmas celebrations have never been that orderly. Please see Homily below.
Merry Christmas!! Have a fantastic week and see you Friday! Fr. Scott
HOMILY:
Christmas, 2010: God Meets us in our Humanity:
Today Christmas looks very neat and clean. The Christmas carols we sing and the cards we send make the Nativity look beautiful, and refreshing.
Christmas’s I have experienced in my life have been a little messy. How about yours?
One year I was trying to figure out the present my Grandfather got me. I accidentally ripped it open. It was a holster and two toy six shooters in all of their glory. My Dad was not a happy camper.
Another time my brother and sister and I, I was about 12 years old, decided to get my mom a blender. We saved all our money and got the lady at Brandis Drug Store to give us a huge discount. While at the dinner one evening before Christmas I blurted out, Mom, I can’t wait until you open your blender!
My mom had a new camera. She set the timer, ran over to sit with us in front of the Christmas tree, and fell backward right on top of the tree. Ornaments shattered, lights shorted out, tinsel floated to the ground. My mom was floundering around trying to crawl out from the tree. My eyes were like saucers as I couldn’t believe what happened. Then everyone started laughing.
The birth of Jesus was a little messy as well. Mary and Joseph traveled several days across bandit infested wastelands. Nineteen year old Joseph had to help his fifteen year old wife have a baby. They had the child in a dark and cold manger. The smell of animals must have been nauseating.
The Birth of Jesus is about our God meeting us in our humanity. Jesus meets us as we are. Then, he takes us by the hand and helps us find the way to a life that has meaning and purpose. He takes us as we are and prepares us for eternal life.
This Christmas in the midst of the over-spending, of over-eating and excessive drinking: in the midst of being human, don’t forget what is important:
Bring God’s life to bear on the world every day. Don’t be afraid to bring up God at school, in the work place, at home with the family, in ordinary places you go every day, or in midst of utter chaos.
Christmas is the feast day when we are given the grace to search for an even deeper faith. It is the time of year to respond to everyone we meet with compassion because that is precisely what God did for us in Jesus.
This Christmas no matter how you feel, how stressed out you are, whether you are alone or with friends at Christmas, re-introduce yourself to our Lord and Savior. Let Jesus meet the real you. And then let him lead you down a path of peace, joy, and everlasting life. Merry Christmas everyone (472 Words).
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