Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

It is 11am and the snow is still falling. Here in Laurel I measured 8 inches on my front steps. Somehow when I started shoveling it seemed like a lot more than that. The sidewalk is not to bad it is shoveling out the car that is labor intensive especially when the snowplow had piled all the snow behind my car. In spite of the work I still love the snow (although a little less with each passing year) and the beauty of a new fallen snow can't be beaten. Growing up in Cumberland and going to school in Canada you were prepared for snow and saw it as just another day. Not so down here in the Baltimore area. I must confess even after living here since 1970 I am still amused by people running to the supermarket to buy bread, milk and of course the ever popular toilet paper. I have canceled our 5pm mass for today. This is only the 4th time in my 35 years as a priest that mass has been canceled due to snow. Believe me I have been having quite a conversation with God about sending this strom on a weekend. You can look out at the snow and see how much of an influence I have!

This is the 4th Sunday of Advent and if you are stuck in the house looking for something to do(instead of reading my blog and surfing the net) I suggest you read the Scriptures for this Sunday. The first reading is Micah 5:1-4a. In this passage God announces that from insignificant Bethlehem shall come the ideal king for Israel. The second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews 10:5-10. This passage tells us that God no longer delights in the sacrifices of the old law and so Christ became human so that He could offer a sacrifice of perfect obedience to God's will. The Gospel is Luke 1:39-45. Mary visits Elizabeth and is greeted with those beautiful words "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." During these last days of Advent we focus on Mary and what a strong and faith filled person she was. Mary was always willing to do the will of God and hopefully we will all imitate her.

Well, I just looked out my window and see that my nice clean sidewalks and car are covered with snow yet again so I guess it's time to bundle up get the shovel and get to work. I hope you are safe and warm and that you enjoy this beautiful gift from God. Let it snow!

Party Time

As we move ever closer to Christmas the number of parties increases and that's a good thing. Parties give us a chance to relax and enjoy the company of friends and of course eat lots of great food.

Saturday (December 12) night after the 5pm mass the Knights of Columbus had their annual Christmas party. There was a great turn out of Knights and their families in fact I believe this may have been the biggest turnout ever. Even Santa came to visit the children. It was a pleasant evening and I think everyone enjoyed spending time together.

Today was the party for our Seniors. They might be Seniors but they still love to party. We had a wonderful turn out and everyone brought plenty of food to share. I had an opportunity to talk with many of them and I am always uplifted by their joy for life and their commitment to our parish. After lunch they all got to work wrapping gifts for merchant sailors at the Seafarer Center at the port of Baltimore run by our own Msgr. Fitzgerald. It was a great afternoon.

I don't want you to think that all we do is party because that's not true. If you had been around the gathering space on Sunday afternoon you would have seen a lot of volunteers working harder than Santa's elves to prepare gifts for families at our sister parish of St. Benedict. The generosity of our parishioners it truly inspiring. I think St. Francis himself would be very pleased with the way in which our parish cares for the less fortunate.

Christmas Presepio

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with enacting the first living nativity as a means of bringing the greatest story ever told to life. His novel idea rapidly spread throughout Christendom. Presepio is Italian for creche. The Italians have a custom of including scenes from everyday life in the Presepio. The idea is that Christ is born in the here and now and not just 2000 years ago, and so he has great relevance to our lives.

The tradition of the Presepio was begun here in our parish after I took a trip to Rome in 1998 and visited the Franciscan church of Saints Cosmas and Damien. They have on display the Grand Presepio which was a gift to them from the King of Italy. It is a beautiful work of art and well worth the visit to the church.

Our Presepio will be blessed next weekend and will be on display throughout the Christmas Season. I hope you will take time to view the beautiful scene and use it as an opportunity to teach your children about the true meaning of Christmas.

Bazaar Day

Our annual Christmas Bazaar was held on November 13 & 14 and it was great fun as well as a very successful fund raiser. We raised over $18,000 to be used for furnishings for our new Faith Formation Center.

There were so many who volunteered their time and talents to make the bazaar a great success that I won't mention any names for fear of forgetting someone. I am extremely grateful to everyone who helped in so many different ways. Not only was the day a financial success but it was also a wonderful day of building community.

I am also thankful to the many parishioners who attended the bazaar and supported it by buying raffle tickets.

On another Christmas related issue I want to remind you to stop by the Christmas Tag table in the Gathering Space to select a gift tag for a needy family. Wrapped gifts should be returned to the church on December 12 and 13. These gifts help to make a joyful Christmas for a number of families in our sister parish St. Benedict.

CATHEDRAL TURNS 50

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is blessed to have two beautiful Cathedrals. The Basilica of the Assumption our nation's first Catholic Cathedral and the co-Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

On Sunday November 15 I had the opportunity to attend the mass celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. The mass was celebrated by Archbishop O'Brien and he was joined by retired Bishop William Newman, Auxiliary Bishop Mitch Rozanski, Bishop Emeritus of Raleigh,NC Joseph Gossman(Bishop Gossman ordained me 35 years ago at my home parish of St. Patirck in Cumberland) and Rev. Msgr. Robert Armstrong Rector of the Cathedral. Joining the Bishops for the mass were 10 priests who have served at the Cathedral. I served as an associate there in 1995 and 96 before I came to St. Francis. The mass was presided over by His Eminence Cardinal William Keeler.

It was a beautiful and moving celebration. The melodious sounds of the Cathedral Choir, the smell of incense and the rainbow of colors shining through the stained glass windows truly lifted you to a higher and more serene place. It reminded me how fortunate we as Catholics are to have such wonderful traditions and how the celebration of the Eucharist can take us from our daily lives to a place where we meet God.

This celebration was also one of Thanksgiving for 25 years of service as Rector by Msgr. Robert Armstrong. In his 25 years as Rector Msgr. Armstrong has been a loving and strong leader and pastor for the members of the Cathedral Parish. They will miss him as was evidenced by the prolonged standing ovation he received. I have known Msgr. since the early 80's and feel privileged to call him a friend. Even though he is officially retiring on December 31 I know that his ministry to God's people will continue.

If you have not had the opportunity the visit either of our co-Cathedrals I encourage you to put a visit on your must do list.

For information on the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen click here: http://www.cathedralofmary.org/

Appreciation Dinner

Each year the St. Francis Council Knights of Columbus hosts a clergy appreciation dinner for myself and our Deacon Joe McKenna. This years dinner took place last night at the Kings Contrivence restaurant and as always it was a wonderful evening. Our Grand Knight Richard Tucci in his remarks was most kind to myself and Deacon Joe.

While this dinner is given to show their appreciation for their pastor I am the one who is most appreciative for the Knights and the Ladies of Hope. These two organizations give countless hours of service to our parish and without them the parish would not be the same. They are always ready and willing to help no matter what is asked of them and for that I am most thankful.

I encourage all the men of the parish to consider joining the Knights of Columbus and I encourage the women of the parish to join the Ladies of Hope. Information about joining can be found on the information table in the gathering space.

ALL SOULS DAY

Monday November 2 is All Souls Day a feast dating back to around 998 when the Benedictine monastery of Cluny began celebrating a feast to remember all of their dead monks. The practice of rembember in the faithful departed continued to grow and is today one of the most treasured feasts in the church. This week when you come to mass you will find The Book of the Names of the Dead prominently displayed in front of the ambo. You are invited to write the names of the departed you would like remembered in masses celebrated throughout the month of November. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

H1N1 Flu Vaccine

Last weekend I announced that we would have the flu vaccine available here at the parish on November 15th. Tracey received a call this morning saying that the date has to be pushed back to November 22nd. We will keep you informed I recommend that you check the bulletin for updates as well as here.

A Few Glitches

Well, out new web site is up and running but as we expected there are a few glitches. It seems like the more high tech we become the more problems we encounter. At times like this we all need to pracitce the virture of patience. We are working on the glitches and will get them fixed as soon as possible.

Teaching Mass

On Tuesday October 27th I will celebrate a "teaching mass" for our religious educations students their parents and any parishioners that would like to attend. A "teaching mass" gives me the opportunity to explain the different parts of the mass and why we do what we do at mass. The mass will begin at 5pm and will last about an hour. I hope you will join us.

If you are reading this blog you have obviously found our new web site. I hope you will spend some time exploring the new site and all the great features it has to offer. Let me know what you think of the new site.

Pastoral Council

The Pastoral Council welcomed three new members at their meeting last night. New members are Dave Everett, Louise Smith and Sally Yates. I welcome them to the council and I am thankful for their willingness to serve the parish as council members. Also at their meeting the council elected Bob Reeves as Chair, John Roach as Vice-Chair, Barb Costa as Recording Secretary and Diane Padden as Corresponding Secretary. If you have questions, comments or suggestions you would like to share with a council member you are are encouraged to do so they can be identified by the blue and white name tag they wear.