Category: PNCC

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Reflection for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time and First Holy Communion 2015

FirstCommunion

Great gifts and
promises.

“Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”

Today we celebrate a very special day in the life of our parish and the Holy Church. Two young people will receive from the Table of the Lord for the first time. Our readings and Gospel discuss the importance of receiving from the Lord.

God is so gracious to us and in His infinite graciousness He has set forth gifts and promises we can take hold of.

God saw that Moses needed help in leading the people. He asked Moses to assemble seventy worthy elders. God took some of the spirit that He had given to Moses and bestowed it on those elders. This was an incredible gift. God’s spirit of prophesy, leadership, and authority that He had given to Moses would now be shared with more people. These elders, including the ones who had not gone to the meeting tent, received God’s spirit. They immediately acted on it. They began prophesying in the camp. God shares His gifts with those He has chosen so they can do His work.

In our Gospel the apostles hear of people doing wondrous things in Jesus’ name. They got concerned and John came to Jesus saying: “we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.”

Jesus knew that His gifts were for all who believed in Him. As such, we too are empowered with His gifts to do marvelous things.

Paul shows us that the opposite is true of those who place their trust and belief in the world – in power, money, and things… Those things will rot away and they will devour those who have put their trust in them. If we are misled we will have no real power. We will miss out on God’s gifts and promises. Imagine the greatest treasure we could possibly obtain and we walk by it to get a plastic replica.

Eden and Erickaa receive from the Table of the Lord for the first time. In doing so they accept the greatest gift a person could ever hold – a treasure not made of gold – a treasure made just for us. Jesus!

We have Jesus. The greatest gift ever. In receiving Him we hold within ourselves the fullness of His graciousness and promises. We are joined all together in His greatest gift.

His gift is His promise. We have true life, real life, great power, and a gift that will never fade or rot away – all in Him. We have life forever and His power. Let us live always as faithful and thankful receivers of His gifts and promises.

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC,

Reflection for the Solemnity of Brotherly Love 2015

Justified

Seeking to be
justified.

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

After the lawyer gave Jesus the correct answer on the Law of Love Jesus was well pleased. Wouldn’t it be great to hear God say to us: “You have answered right?”

The lawyer goes on to ask Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?” The layer was seeking to justify himself – in other words to see if Jesus would say that his way of life was the correct path, that he had done rightly not just in words, but in his life.

It is easy to give Jesus the right words. We can do this every Sunday in prayer and worship. We can do it in talking to others. But words are not enough. The lawyer knew this much.

In the lawyer’s mind he thought he knew the answer – my neighbor is my people – the Israelites were his only neighbors – and he expected that Jesus would confirm his opinion.

Jesus goes into the great Parable of the Good Samaritan. The lawyer would have recognized his neighbors as the priest and the Levite, but something went wrong. They didn’t follow through on the Law of Love toward their fellow Israelite. They walked on. Then this non- Israelite did something amazing, he lived out the Law of Love.

Could the lawyer possibly be justified if he did not believe and act similarly? The lawyer could walk away thinking that Jesus was completely off base, but wouldn’t he have to wonder? Was he truly justified if he wouldn’t live and act as the Samaritan had acted?

We have two challenges. The first is to consider our instinct. How do we feel about the lawyer, the priest, and the Levite at a gut level? Of course we’re on the side of Jesus and the Samaritan – but what about them? They are easy to dislike. Maybe they are not quite enemies, but not our kind of people? The challenge is to see them with eyes, hearts, minds, strength, and soul as our brothers. We are to love them and forgive their failings as Jesus would.

The second challenge is to move beyond just saying words of love – to extend the totality of our love – a love with eyes, hearts, minds, strength, and soul – to everyone. Then we will truly be justified and live-forever hearing Jesus say – “You have answered right?”

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, Work, ,

Reflection for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2015

shackles

Getting to
work.

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.

Tomorrow we celebrate Labor Day. Our Holy Church has a long history of support for the Labor movement. Our founders were in tune with the struggles faced by working men and women. They experienced the reality of exploitation by the powerful moneyed interests of our nation. Bishop Hodur spoke out for the respect that was due workers, for fair treatment, payment of proper wages, and a fair share of the profits they produced. He advocated for the same kind of democracy in industry that was part of our Church. All worked against selfish interest and for the collective good of the community.

It would be one thing to advocate for workers from self-interest as an ends, but we well know that advocacy for the rights of workers and for the community comes from and is centered in our love for Jesus’ way of life.

As we see in today’s gospel, Jesus’ healing takes physical form. He works to make the deaf hear and the mute speak. In John 9:5-7 we see Jesus again healing physically: “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

St. Paul reminds us that we cannot forego justice toward the weak, the downtrodden, the worker. We are not to make distinction, but look to the collective good of all – because Jesus showed no partiality: show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?

Our faith in Jesus requires that we work faithfully for the collective good. We must be unafraid of working to renew the world – to help those deaf to faith to hear; to help those who fear proclamation to cry out; to open streams of the life giving waters to the entire world; and to show no partiality, treating all as equal before God.

Homilies, PNCC,

Reflection for the 6th Sunday of Easter 2015

callherblessed

Love as
God loved us.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

We are a busy Church today. As we observe the Sixth Sunday of Easter we also observe the 64th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Joseph Padewski and Mother’s Day.

It may seem to be a difficult challenge. We have to, as a Church, concentrate on Easter. That is our first duty, to proclaim Jesus’ salvation and the promise of His resurrection to the whole world. How do you mix that with the fact that members of the Church are sometimes called to suffer and even die to proclaim this message – something happening right now in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Then couple all that with honoring our Blessed Mother and our moms in a special way.

Certainly, each of these events can stand alone and with deep significance for the Christian faithful. Thankfully, our Lord has already showed us how all this is bound together: This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus told us what we should do, but as opposed to false prophets and made up gods – He walked the walk. He laid down His life for all of us voluntarily. As St. John recounts Jesus saying: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.”

Bishop Padewski lived his vocation and followed in Jesus’ footsteps. He returned to Poland from Albany to serve God’s people in the devastation following World War II. He did not consider his own safety or comfort, but rather followed the commandment of love and walked into the horrors of the communist takeover of Poland. He was arrested, tortured, and killed for his love of God’s people and his faithfulness to Jesus.

The Blessed Virgin is the exemplar of love for Jesus. We not only honor her as our heavenly mother, but also as our example of love and dedication to her Son, Jesus. She sacrificed her heart and life for Him. So too our mothers, the first example of love in our lives. They laid down their lives in a great act of sacrificial love.

All of these themes, all of Christianity, is joined together by love – love of God and for each other – giving all we are for the truth of love.

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, ,

Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday 2015

good_shepherd-icon-thumb

Asking for
good shepherds

A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.

We pause this Sunday to reflect on Jesus in His role as the Good Shepherd. We can easily identify with what a good shepherd does by looking at Jesus’ words in their cultural context.

Middle eastern cultures understood what good shepherding was all about. It was about feeding the lambs, bringing them to good pasture lands and water, grooming and clipping them, delivering new lambs, leading them and teaching them to stay together, going off after the wandering lost ones, and protecting the sheep in the field and in the fold.

To feed the sheep means to take care of them from the beginning of life. Good shepherds begin the lambs’ introduction to the ways of God, first with the milk of instruction and teaching in God’s way. Then the good shepherds move them to solid food – food for lives lived in righteousness so that the lambs can be fully equipped, able to stand in the day of testing.

Grooming the lambs means good shepherds honestly correct what is wrong and failing in them. Good shepherds must teach lambs discipline and encourage and rebuke them so that they stay true to the Lord and fit for His service.

Delivering the sheep means that good shepherds preach the Gospel so that many are brought to new life – born again and regenerated. Good shepherds must bring many to God’s light so that no darkness can overcome their lives.

The other side of the equation is that good shepherds lead flocks, not just individual sheep. We run into problems when we see Jesus as solely a personal Good Shepherd. True, He is Good Shepherd to us as individuals but not only. Jesus wanted to make sure that we receive all the benefits of being part of His flock, that we be fed, pastured, groomed and trained, that we stay together, that the lost among us be led back, and that we are protected.

To do all this Jesus gave us shepherds who were loyal to His way. We are blessed to have His shepherds among us to this day, who lead us in the pristine Christian faith.

Our bishops and priests maintain the flock and carry out Jesus’ work of shepherding. They further call us to be good shepherds to one another. They ask us to take up the same work of feeding, grooming, and delivering each other. Let us honor the work of our good shepherds and take their and our responsibility seriously.

Christian Witness, PNCC, , ,

Ś+P Rt. Rev. Anthony Rysz

From the Scranton Times-Tribune: Bishop Anthony M. Rysz, 90, died Friday, March 20, in Geisinger Community Medical Center emergency room after being stricken ill at home. His wife of 46 years is the former Marie Bednash Rysz.

Bishop_Anothny_RyszBishop Rysz was the son of the late Aniela Szmyd Rysz and Joseph Rysz. Born in Old Forge, he was educated in local schools and attended the University of Scranton. During the Second World War, he served with the Fifth Amphibious Force of the Pacific theater with the United States Navy. Long involved in church activities and organizations, his calling prompted him to enter Savonarola Theological Seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church.

He was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Oct. 19, 1950, by the Right Rev. John Misiaszek, and was assigned as assistant to St. Stanislaus Cathedral. In February 1954, he was assigned to the pastorate of Holy Mother of Sorrows Parish, Dupont, and was elevated to the rank of senior priest on Nov. 11, 1964, by the Prime Bishop, the Most Rev. Leon Grochowski. In February 1968, he assumed the pastorate of St. Stanislaus Cathedral and received Episcopal consecration on June 26 of the same year. He served on various commissions of the church, including the United Polish School Societies, Clergymen’s Aid Fund and Seminary Board. He was the personal secretary to the first bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, Francis Hodur, and his successor, Leon Grochowski. From 1959 to 1966, he spent many months as the consignee for Aid to Poland under the American Polish National Relief Program.

Bishop Rysz was actively involved in the International Bishop’s Conference of the Union of Utrecht, of which the Polish National Catholic Church was a member. Additionally, he was the chairman of the Commission on Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and had participated in numerous ecumenical celebrations, both here and abroad. He was the editor of God’s Field, the official newspaper of the Polish National Catholic Church and a contributing writer to that publication. He was actively involved in programs which encourage the participation of younger people in the life of the church. In recent years, he served as pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Nanticoke.

He is also survived by a sister, Josephine R. Kwiatkowski, Taylor; and two brothers, Theodore, Scranton; and Walter; nieces and nephews.

He was also preceded in death by a sister, Celia Ambrose.

He will lie in state on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. in St. Stanislaus Polish National Catholic Cathedral, 529 E. Locust St., Scranton. The funeral Mass will be on Wednesday at 10 a.m., celebrated by the Most Rev. Dr. Anthony A. Mikovsky. Interment will follow in the parish cemetery.

Donations in the bishop’s memory may be made to the Clergy Pension Fund, the St. Stanislaus Elementary School PTO or St. Stanislaus Renovation Fund.

Eternal rest grant unto your servant, priest, and bishop and may the perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, , , , ,

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Institution of the Polish National Catholic Church – 2015

regeneration

And they will be
amazed.

Then the righteous man will stand with great confidence in the presence of those who have afflicted him, and those who make light of his labors. When they see him, they will be shaken with dreadful fear, and they will be amazed at his unexpected salvation. They will speak to one another in repentance, and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say, “This is the man whom we once held in derision and made a byword of reproach — we fools! We thought that his life was madness and that his end was without honor. Why has he been numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot among the saints?

The Scripture above from the Book of Wisdom obviously points to Jesus, a man mocked and spurned by His people, thought to be just another mad prophet, and eventually killed in the most horrible of ways even though innocent. He emerges victorious in the end and is recognized to be what He always was, the Holy One of God, the only Son of God, God made man Who now sits at the Father’s right hand.

Beyond this obvious reference to the life of Jesus we should be able to see in ourselves the same experience. As Jesus was mocked and derided by the leaders of the time, so too are we. As Jesus was thought mad, so too are we. As Jesus was mocked, so too are we. As people said: ‘how can this be possible’ of Jesus, so too they say it of us. Yet, in the end, we know we, like Jesus, will emerge victorious.

Is emerging victorious a foregone conclusion for us?

Victory is solely dependent on our likeness to Jesus. The prerequisite for our victory is the same as that exhibited in the earthly life of Jesus Christ. It is by our faith that we will be victorious. That is both the starting point and the reality that must underpin all we do. In approaching our work, joys, struggles, and interactions – in both our interior life and social interactions – we must define ourselves by our life in Jesus.

A life fully lived in faith and likened to Him will result in others being amazed by us. That faith life makes us changed people with the potential of being amazing. That is what regeneration in Jesus is. Because of essential change we become a confusing lot of people in the face of the world. We get up early, worship by faith, work hard, and have a totally different attitude than that of the majority of people. We believe that we can change individual hearts and the wider world. We think that by all this effort will make God’s kingdom a reality. We may face derision, be assessed fools, and might be mocked. Yet we know that by living regenerated lives we will be numbered among the saints and victorious. Be ready to be amazing.

Art, Events, PNCC, , , ,

Simply Grand Concert Series – Art Song Treasures of Poland on March 22, 2015

From WVIA: WVIA’s next Simply Grand Concert on March 22, 2015 features soprano Barbara Liberasky-Nowicki and pianist Carol Ann Aicher in a program titled, Art Song Treasures of Poland

PITTSTON, PA (WVIA) – WVIA’s next Simply Grand Concert features soprano Barbara Liberasky-Nowicki and pianist Carol Ann Aicher in a program titled, “Art Song Treasures of Poland.” The live concert will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 3 p.m. in the Sordoni High Definition Theater at the WVIA Public Media Studios in Pittston, PA. Seating is free, but limited. To make reservations call 570-655-2808 or reserve seats online.

ArtSongPolandWVIADr. Barbara Liberasky-Nowicki, soprano, has performed abroad and throughout the tri-state area in opera, concert, and recital. Her opera credits include appearances with the Grande Theatre of Geneva, Switzerland in productions of Parsifal, Albert Herring, La Boheme, and Boris Godunov, the latter of which was televised throughout Europe. She has been a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Pittsburgh Opera, the New York Lyric Opera, Mostly Opera, the Ossining Chorale, the Pittsburgh Chamber Opera Theater, the Ridge Light Opera, Stony Hill Players, the New Jersey Concert Opera, and the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, among others. Dr. Nowicki earned a Doctorate of Education in College Teaching and Vocal Pedagogy from Columbia University Teachers College. The topic of her doctoral research is the history of Polish music leading to the Polish art song of the 19th century. She is devoted to bringing this virtually unknown song repertoire to wider audiences. Recital venues have included New Jersey City University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Northeast Theater of Scranton, and the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City among others. She was featured on WQED-FM radio in Pittsburgh in a program entitled: Oginski to Szymanowski: The Polish Art Song of the 19th Century. Dr. Nowicki also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Wilkes University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Carnegie-Mellon University. As a music educator, Ms. Nowicki has taught chorus and voice at Washington and Jefferson College, Teachers College Columbia University, Carnegie-Mellon University and music in several public schools, including those in Madison and Millburn, New Jersey. Ms. Nowicki resides in Scranton, Pennsylvania with her husband the Rt. Rev. Bernard Nowicki, bishop of the Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church. Their daughter, Berit Elizabeth, resides in Northampton, MA.

Dr. Carol Ann Aicher earned a Doctorate in Education at Columbia University Teachers College and holds a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music as well as the Piano Pedagogy Certificate and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance with a minor in Music History from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Carol Ann currently teaches graduate pedagogy at the Manhattan School of Music. She was previously an assistant professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Aicher also frequently presents workshops, lectures on pedagogy, and adjudicates various festivals and competitions. As a pianist and collaborator she has performed at many venues on the east coast; Longwood Gardens, Strathmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall. She is half of the Oberlin Piano Duo, an ensemble that specializes in music for four hands, one piano. Carol Ann is also part of a two piano team with her husband Douglas Lane.

The WVIA “Simply Grand Concert Series” showcases the talent of regional classical musicians. Since the series began in 1990, dozens of regional musicians have been featured. The concerts are recorded for broadcast on WVIA-FM before a live audience in the Sordoni High Definition Theater at WVIA Public Media Studios.

Christian Witness, PNCC, , , ,

Ś+P Donald F. Mushalko, Ph.D.

From Trib Total Media: Polish culture, music backbones of man’s life

nekrolog1

Ś.P. Donald Mushalko devoted his life to music and to keeping Polish culture alive in the Pittsburgh region.

The outgoing and friendly former music professor at the University of Pittsburgh traveled extensively and had friends across the country and throughout Europe, said his sister, Jean Jasiewicz of McKeesport.

“Our grandparents emigrated from Poland, (and) they lived with us,” Jasiewicz said. “We learned the language as a second language as children. … It was just instilled in us from childhood.”

Donald F. Mushalko died Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014, at Briarcliff Pavilion in North Huntingdon from heart problems. He was 84.

Mr. Mushalko graduated from what was then the Carnegie Institute of Technology with a degree in music education and violin. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught for 40 years and served as president of the Polish Room, one of the school’s 30 Nationality Rooms, all decorated in the tradition of specific nations.

He was involved with several Polish music, cultural and heritage groups in the region and was a devout member of Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church of Mc-Keesport, serving as choir director, an organist and, at times, a singer.

He was a devoted caretaker to his wife after she had a stroke, taking her out for activities and to banquets, said his niece, Joanne Dorazio of White Oak.

“She had a better social life than I did,” Dorazio said of her aunt. “It was good that he kept her active. … He didn’t just sit there with her.”

Dorazio said her uncle had a traditional Polish dinner on Christmas Eve with his family and spent Christmas at her house with his wife’s family.

“He was bound and determined (to make it through Christmas this year),” Dorazio said. “He enjoyed himself. It was a nice send-off for him, I think.”

He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen C. Korch Mushalko, and a sister, Alice M. Mushalko. In addition to Jasiewicz and Dorazio, Mr. Mushalko is survived by his brothers, George A. Mushalko and Edwin Mushalko, and wife, Arlene; and many nieces and nephews.

Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 31st and from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. January 2nd in the Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home, 2703 O’Neil Blvd., McKeesport. A blessing service will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, January 3rd followed by a 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial in Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church. Interment will follow in Holy Family Cemetery, North Versailles.

Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church, 1921 Eden Park Blvd., McKeesport, PA 15132.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and may the Perpetual Light shine upon him.

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, , ,

Solemnity of the Circumcision 2015

First reading: Genesis 17:9-14
Psalm: Ps. 19:8-11
Epistle: Galatians 5:3-6
Verse Philippians 3:3
Gospel: Luke 2:21

circumcisionpainting

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Today we observe the Solemnity of the Circumcision. In accordance with Mosaic law, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day after His birth. As we read in Genesis: An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you.

Eight days is often called, within the context of the Church, an Octave.

The Church calls us to observe the eight days following Christmas as an “Octave” or eight consecutive holy days. These days allow us the time needed to contemplate the mystery of Jesus’ coming as man in a special way.

The eight days between the Solemnity of the Nativity and the Circumcision are as much a celebration of Christmas as Christmas day itself. In the Church’s wisdom, She knows that we cannot possibly celebrate the unfathomable mystery of Jesus’ birth in just one day. These eight days of contemplation help us to prepare and conform ourselves to a life where we continually observe the Christmas feast. We train to make it a constant in our lives.

Each of our Octave days are to be filled with praise, reflection, and profound contemplation of the richness we have as Christians – a richness that starts in Jesus’ birth. By observing these eight days, this Octave, we can re-order and better practice our observance of Christmas as a continuum. It helps us to move further away from the worldly practice of celebrating Christmas in one chaotic morning, throwing it all out the day after. We move away from observing and being slaves to a commercial calendar to the calendar that reveals God’s love.

The practice of observing a celebration for eight days is as ancient as the Old Testament. The Hebrew people observed many of their feasts for a period of eight days. The “Feast of Tabernacles” and the “Dedication of the Temple” are two of the more notable. Later, in the Christian era, the Church continued the tradition by celebrating very special feasts for the same length of days. Today we celebrate several feasts with Octaves: Christmas, the Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, and Corpus Christi.  The Church offers these eight days periods in order to allow us ample time to contemplate the richness of these mysteries. 

These observances take us away from being overly simplistic in celebrating the greatest and most profound Holy Days – days that mark God’s most powerful interventions in human history. It helps us to see, in a deeper way, how powerful God’s saving work is. It helps us to more fully integrate these great and powerful truths into our own lives.

The powerful truth we celebrate in a particular way today, on this eighth day of Christmas, is the Lord’s circumcision. On this occasion we are given a profound lesson concerning Jesus’ humanity. On this day our Savior first shed His precious blood. The Cross, and suffering that was to come, overshadowed the Lord Jesus even while He lay in a crib by swaddling cloths. The knife which cut the Lord’s flesh on that day foreshadows the centurion’s spear which would pierce His side, releasing the saving flood of blood and water. In that blood and water we have been made new – we have been regenerated into His image.

The Spirit-blade of baptism’s waters and our communion in the blood of Christ marks the soul and body of each and every Christian with the “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We become children of the new Covenant, and rather than circumcise our flesh, we circumcise our hearts.

Consider that Jesus first came in a world that did not have television, computers, sports, cell phones, fast food, automobiles, careers and newspapers. Yet our ancestors too were distracted by daily life. They needed time to take stock of God’s great work, to circumcise their hearts anew. How much more do we need the time to enter more deeply into God’s mysteries, to circumcise our hearts in these hectic days. How much more do we need to be reminded to take time off from work, visit family, feast, attend Holy Mass more regularly, praise God, care for the poor, do charitable works, and most of all be humbled by all God has done for us.