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O come Lord Jesus, tiny, frail, weak, helpless infant, come and remind me of why I adore you, lead me to the stable, welcome me to the manger! There allow me the humility to hear the very Word of God, spoken out of love, clothed in the flesh of the new born baby Jesus! The stable scene is at the heart of the Christmas season. I have put my stable up in the sitting room of the presbytery. The baby is not in the manger yet but the scene is one of tranquillity, one of peace, of blessed serenity. That is how it should be. Despite the turmoil, the panic, the upset, the clamour and clatter of living; despite the rush and the hustle and bustle of the nature of modern living there the stable scene stands, offering peace, displaying utter peace. Why? Because he has come, the Word has been made flesh, the love of God once invisible is now visible, nothing in time will ever be the same again! I spend hours each Christmas adoring at the stable, lovingly gazing upon the beauty I see before

In a far distant time, In a story so well known throughout the lands, We hear once again about an angel Who visits a young girl to announce God's plans.  We hear about the angel's proclamation, "Behold..."  and her response, "Behold..."     In both the Online Dictionary and in Merriam Webster dictionary the definition of BEHOLD is a transitive verb meaning: 1: to perceive through sight or apprehension : see 2: to gaze upon : observe Literally, they are saying, "Watch, this will happen," it's an action on both sides; the Holy Spirit will come down and bring forth the pregnancy in Mary and, in turn, Mary will allow this in cooperation with God as His handmaid.  Human and divine working together for one purpose, love . Behold, our God will bring us a savior, His name is Jesus!  Jesus loved us so much and He showed us in not so small ways throughout His earthly life.  Here, His mother begins His journey towards the goal of salvation! The magn

Photos from Iligan.org San Lorenzo Ruiz Church, Iligan City, a temporary evacuation center. The Columbans are very familiar with both Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City, the two places most badly hit by Typhoon Sendong/Washi last weekend. 'Washi' was the international code-name for the storm, 'Sendong' the Philippine name. Columban Fr Rolly Aniscal lost a cousin and her two children in Cagayan de Oro. The children's bodies haven't been recovered yet. I'm posting photos taken in Iligan City, which is about 90kms from Cagayan de Oro City. New Zealander Fr Paul Finlayson and his team in the Columban-run Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro, are taking care of 25 families whose homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Venus Guibone, who worked in Ireland as a Columban lay missionary whose house was very badly damaged is among those being accommodated at St John Vianney Theological Seminary. Full post here .

Adoration of the Child , Gerrit van Honthorst, painted c.1620 'God takes delight in his people' . [Psalm 149, Grail translation, used in the Breviary.] Readings (New American Bible, used in the Philippines, USA) : Vigil Mass Mass During the Night Mass at Dawn Mass During the Day Each Mass has its own specific prayers and readings. By attending any of them we fulfill our obligation on this great holy day. The beginning of the Holy Gospel according to John (John 1:1-18). This gospel is read at the Mass During the Day. The translation is that of the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He

Every year since my husband and I started having babies, I have written and mailed a family Christmas letter. The first year, I hand wrote it since we didn't have a home computer and I traced our infant son's hand in the letter. For me, our first letter was a sign I really was a grown up. After all, I now had a husband, a baby, a washing machine and an annual Christmas letter. Today, I emailed this year's letter to a dear friend, a graduate student who has moved home to Milan. "Thanks for the letter!" she emailed back. "Is it an American tradition? I've never read one before." Read more here...

Commonweal Online Enjoy and Have A Merry Christmas!!!

Post for priests, who Our Lady, is teaching me, to love. In spite of myself.

The Visitation , El Greco, painted 1610-13 El Greco captures the swirling dance of life in today's gospel. When the babe in Elizabeth's womb, St John the Baptist, leaped for joy upon the arrival of his cousin Jesus, in the womb of Mary. St Luke tells us twice that the infant in Elizabeth's womb leaped. My friend Lala below, feeding her friend Jordan, wasn't a source of joy to her mother when she was born 31 years ago. Her mother, probably in great distress but perhaps with hope in her heart, left her newborn baby in a garbage pail where she was found and taken to the orphanage of the Daughters of Charity in Cebu City. today she lives in the L'Arche community in Cainta, Rizal, part of the great urban sprawl of Metro Manila. Lala is certainly a source of joy to all who know her. Jordan, born with multiple disabilities, has been in the L'Arche community for most of his life. While Lala didn't have to go 'with haste into the hill country' to take c

I have just discovered this excellent blog by a Ukranian Eastern-Rite Catholic priest-monk. Take a look.

The graves of martyrs in front of the  Pietá in Regina Martyrum (Queen of Martyrs) Church near Plotenzee Prison, Berlin, where many were executed by the Nazis, including   Fr Alfred Delp SJ . Today is the 44th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, my native city. Three days ago I posted about   Fr Alfred Delp SJ , martyred by the Nazis on 2 February 1945. While doing research for that I came across a sermon he gave on the Sacrament of Holy Orders, one of a series on the Seven Sacraments in Munich in the autumn of 1941. I found it on the   website of The Ignatius Press . From the website of The Ignatius Press Here is the text of the sermon with some parts   highlighted  and   [comments]   added. Holy Orders | by Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J. | Preached in Munich, Autumn 1941 "Let the grace that is in you through the laying on of hands be rekindled." (2 Timothy 1:8) ...First: In that great moment of our life when we go to be orda

As a social worker in the eighties, I worked extensively with the Salvation Army, so I had a positive image of their good works,  and regularly donated to their kettle campaign each Christmas. This all changed this week when Anita Crane, a reporter for World Net Daily sent me the Salvation Army's policy on abortion. It has loopholes which are unacceptable, too many babies fall through.  "The Salvation Army believes in the sanctity of human life. Humankind was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). All people – without exception – are of value to him, holding a special place in his creation (Psalm 8:5), irrespective of age, gender, race, religion, health or social status, or their potential for achievement." But it also states, "A serious commitment to the protection and care of the unborn calls us to a commitment to the prevention of unwanted pregnancy through means such as  access to reliable birth control , safety in relationships, and societal respect of w

Do you ever think you just can’t do it... whatever ‘it’ is? Life seems impossible sometimes, doesn’t it? There is so much to do, and you’re just one person. It’s easy to fall into hopelessness, especially when you hear all the stories about abortion clinic atrocities, political scandals, and young women being crushed in elevators. It was hearing about that poor woman in an elevator from a friend in New York City where it happened, that I tried to formulate an answer to the ‘why me’ or ‘why does God let this happen’ question. I didn’t manage to formulate anything that didn’t contain the usual phrases about free choice, redemptive suffering, and unknown silver linings. Granted, we use those phrases over and over again because they are true and theologically sound, yet I was unsatisfied. My Big Apple friend was really struggling – not with his faith, which is sound – but with the temptation to become cynical. I wrestled with this puzzle for days to no good end. And then God came throug

Among the news you read in won't read in thee aftermath of the Typhoon Sendong that hit southern Phillipines is the miraculous story of my brother's newborn nephew, Brennan Kyle Alcantara. Read more here...

 Tropical storm 'Washi', Philippine name 'Sendong', devastated two major cities in northern Mindanao in the early hours of yesterday morning, Saturday, 17 December, killing hundreds of people. The two cities, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, are very familiar to me and to many Columbans. We still have a house in Cagayan de Oro and a parish in the city, and at one time worked in all of the parishes in the Diocese of Iligan, including those in the city. Mindanao isn't a small island. It is larger than Ireland. The storm was initially forecast to strike the island of Negros, expected to affect Bacolod City where I live. But it changed course and hit an area of Mindanao that rarely if ever experiences a typhoon or tropical storm. Some friends were directly affected but nobody that I know, as far as I am aware, was killed. The home of one of our household staff in the Columban house in Cagayan de Oro was very badly damaged. He and hiw family are now staying in the Colum

In support of our Catholic Mom Bloggers. We have one in our parish. Her name is Dianna. She is an emergency room nurse,  a mother of four, with another on the way. Dianna is a member of our pastoral council and recently started a Moms Club in our parish for mothers of children under five. Moms and their children have  activities several times a month for morning play dates, story times and field trips. Moms periodically meet up for Mom's Night's Out. Dianna blogs over at The Kennedy Adventures! . Go girls! I admire you all. Deacon Gerry By Jennifer Fulwiler Earlier this week Babble released its list of the  Top Mom Blogs of 2011 , and my email inbox has been abuzz ever since. My friends and I have been reading mommy blogs since we first became parents, and so we took great interest in this collection. First, we all agreed that Babble did a good job: These are definitely the most popular “mommy blogs” in the English-speaking world. But then someone pointed out:  Hey, wait