I bring you news of great joy

Wishing you all a joyful and blessed Christmas!

Christmas Day: 25 December

Gospel Luke 2: 1–14

Now at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken, and everyone went to their own town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town ofNazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn.

In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to all who enjoy his favour. ’

 

Geertgen tot Sint Jans, Birth of Jesus (1484-90)
See more paintings of the Nativity here.

Gospel reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

When I can find a moment for myself, I may want to light a candle, take a few deep breaths and relish the quiet within me and hopefully around me.

I read the account of these familiar events and ponder.

What was it really like for Joseph, Mary, the new born baby, the shepherds?

I try and imagine the countryside, the surroundings, the weather. Perhaps I can see the litter scattered by the crowds travelling to Bethlehem for the census.

I talk to the people I meet. What do I say to them?

Maybe I then feel like focusing on the shepherds and their flocks. What do they do to protect their environment?

When the glory of the Lord shines around them – and me – what is my overwhelming feeling? Joy ... gratitude ... fear ... or ...?

I tell the Lord what is in my heart and slowly go back to my usual activities on this Christmas Day.

Click here to read or listen to a one-minute homily for the Feast of the Holy Family (Sunday 26 December)

Blessed is she who believed

 Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C - 19th December 2021

Gospel Luke 1: 39–44

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

C15 stained glass panel, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As I prepare to pray, I give time to  becoming slowly aware of my body. I relax and breathe gently. I allow the conviction of God’s presence, in and around me, to flood my being. I ask the Spirit to pray within me.

When I’m ready, I take up the text and read it slowly a couple of times.

At one level, it is the simple meeting of two pregnant women. I imagine the scene and quietly watch it unfolding before me.

What strikes me most about what I see? And why is that?

I look at Elizabeth, see the thrill on her face as her baby moves within her; her joy at meeting Mary; her spiritual insight in seeing her cousin as the ‘mother of her Lord’.

Do I find small echoes of any of this in my life?

I consider Mary, arriving to help with the ordinary chores of life, but caught up in a unique moment of blessedness.

How does this speak to me?

I ponder the deep bond between the two women: their joy, their pride in carrying their precious children, but also their humility, and their consciousness of touching the divine in all their humanity.

I may see this encounter as a contemplative moment. I remain silent before them.

I speak to the Lord, expressing how I feel.

I pray for all pregnant women as I end my prayer.

Someone is coming...

 Third Sunday of Advent Year C - 12th December 2021

Gospel: Luke 3: 10–18

When all the people asked John, ‘What must we do, then?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics, they must share with the one who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ There were tax collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, ‘Master, what must we do?’ He said to them, ‘Exact no more than your rate.’ Some soldiers asked him in their turn, ‘What about us? What must we do?’ He said to them, ‘No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’

A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’ As well as this, there were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.

Threshing. Photo from jewelsofjudaism.com

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

Coming to my prayer, I do not rush; taking time, I allow myself to become still in body and mind in the presence of God. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me to pray.

In last week’s Gospel, we heard that John came as ‘A voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord’. Remembering this, I read the Gospel passage, perhaps several  mes, noting anything that appears to stand out for me.

The different people ask John, ‘What must I do?’ Perhaps I ask the Lord to show me what I am called to be or do to prepare a way for God in my life, in my family, in my community?

I may like to consider the sacramental gifts that have made me one with Christ by water and the fire of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean for me? I share my thoughts and feelings with the Lord.

Perhaps I ask for light to see what God finds in me that is both wheat and chaff. I talk with the Lord about what I see, remembering always to look less at myself and more to the love of God whose coming to me is always ‘Good News’.

Prepare a way for the Lord!

 Second Sunday of Advent Year C - 5th December 2021

Gospel Luke 3: 1–6

In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the lands of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrach of Abilene, during the pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas the word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went through the whole Jordan district proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the sayings of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice cries in the wilderness:

Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled in,

every mountain and hill be laid low,

winding ways will be straightened

and rough roads made smooth.

And all mankind shall see the salvation of God.

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I begin this period of prayer as I always do, by preparing, in my heart, a way for the Lord. I take my time to become still.

I read the gospel slowly, thoughtfully ... what am I noticing here?

The detailed opening paragraph may seem puzzling, as Luke firmly anchors things in a concrete time and place.

Where have I found God at work in the concrete circumstances of my own history? Where do I continue to find him?

The passage begins with Tiberius who, as Roman Emperor, was the most powerful man alive in Jesus’s world, but ends by focusing on the Lord himself, the salvation of God for all people.

Who are the powerful figures in my world, my life? ... those with the loudest voices, the greatest profiles, the most ‘likes’ on social media?

Who is the Lord for me?

What is he saying along the winding ways and rough roads of my life? And how am I preparing a way for him, readying myself in anticipation for his coming?

I speak to him from the heart in complete trust. Our Father ...