Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: January 03, 2018
Yes, it’s still quite proper still to use the greeting “Merry Christmas!” at the head of this column. The Christmas season is a short one this year, lasting just over two weeks, but until we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord later this week we in the Church are still officially celebrating Christ’s Nativity and all of the wondrous events associated with it.
This weekend it is the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus which we recall in faith. These mysterious characters from the East never fail to intrigue us: who were they? were their names really Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar? were they pagans? scientists? astrologers? royalty? are we even sure that there were only three of them? what’s the meaning behind their gifts? what was the star they were following? and so forth. Frankly, I like to think that all of the unanswered questions which the Bible story raises enrich the spiritual possibilities for us: in thankful prayer we can dwell on our own seeking out of the Lord; on the gifts we can offer to Him; on the “stars” and other things that have led us to Him; and so forth.
A very generous family approached me this past week and indicated that they’d like to donate the three statues of the Magi in our Christmas “crèche set” in church. This will really enhance our devotion at Christmastime in the future! It’s a marvelous gift because the large Fontanini figures are not inexpensive, and we’ll be able to obtain all of them at once. Once these are obtained we’ll only lack a few animals to “complete the set.” (One parish I know of obtained the camel, elephant, ox and donkey a few years back and then jokingly named them after former pastors … to the great chagrin of the priest whose name was assigned to the donkey!)
Would you like some timely “Church trivia”? This year here in Louisiana the Christmas season lasts one day longer than anywhere else on earth! Everywhere else the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – which is, as I mentioned above, the last day of Christmastide – occurs on Monday, January 8. But in Louisiana our State’s patronal feast day occurs on January 8. This is the Solemnity of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, an observance commemorating Mary’s role in helping to win the Battle of New Orleans in 1815: the story goes that she interceded, at the Ursuline Sisters’ prayerful requests, to help General Andrew Jackson’s ragtag army of militia, sharpshooters and even pirates defeat a much larger British force. In any case, Mary remains a powerful intercessor for us all, against every and especially sudden danger. And this year she has even pushed the feast of Jesus’ baptism back a day to January 9!
See you next week in Ordinary Time!!
Sincerely yours in Christ, manifest as God’s Own Light!
Fr. Paul
