Many years ago, in the olden days when I was young (as one of my children once put it), we had a new young assistant pastor in our parish. He blew into town and began immediately making changes in the parish - cleaning out closets, tossing stuff for which he didn’t see an immediate need, organizing new people to participate in ministries, etc. It was not an easy time for those of us who had been ministering in the parish for many years and had just happened to be out of town for a couple of weeks when he arrived and found no one filling our places in the community. Some toes got crunched. Some feelings got hurt. Some people moved into new ministry in other communities. And some people got newly involved in service within the community who might never have stepped up to serve if he hadn’t asked them! As they say, with every cloud, there’s a silver lining.

I thought of this today as I reflected on this week’s readings from the First Letter of St. John that have appeared in the daily Mass liturgies. Their themes have been those of light shining in darkness, of love overcoming all else, and of living in the light, letting God’s light and love shine forth into our world through our love of those around us.

One day in that long ago time, I received a note in the mail from Fr. New Young Priest. I had done something for which he was sending a “Thank you” note. (I’ve no idea today what it was.) Those were the days when it was a new, exciting idea to cut a picture from a magazine and make your own notes and cards. He had cut a picture of a young woman from a magazine and glued it to a half sheet of blue paper. He wrote a quote from John’s Gospel beside it. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5) It was a very simple note, but striking in its simplicity and power. On the back of the note, he wrote, “Pretty good news, huh!” and a simple thanks, with his signature.

The note really touched me. It was so lovely that I covered it with clear contact paper and taped it to the wall in my room. When I left home after college, I took it with me. Once in a while, I still find it in my attic, in a box of well loved treasures from my childhood and youth, and it always brings a smile.

He was right. And St. John was right. That the light cannot be overcome by even the greatest darkness is indeed “pretty good news.”

Today’s Gospel reading is from St. Mark, the story known as “the feeding of the five thousand” (Mk 6:34-44).

In this familiar story, Jesus and the twelve apostles have traveled across the Sea of Galilee to a deserted area, to get away from the crowds of people and get a bit of rest. The people had seen where they were going and followed on foot, around the lake. Mark says that Jesus was “moved with pity” when He saw them and began to teach them. It was getting late and the disciples suggested that Jesus should send the people back to the towns so they could find food and places to spend the night.

Jesus surprised them by telling them to feed the people themselves. They protested that it would cost “two hundred days’ wages” to feed so many. This didn’t faze Jesus. Instead, He asked, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” They returned with the news that they had five loaves and two fish. Jesus instructed them to have the people sit down in groups. Then He took the food they had, blessed it, broke it into pieces and told the disciples to pass it out among the people.

When everyone had eaten their fill, they gathered up what was left and found they had 12 baskets full of leftovers.

In this last week of the Christmas season, following our celebration of the shining forth of the light to the Gentiles too, what are we to make of this story? Why is it told here?

It seems to me that it’s here with good reason.

First, however, it’s important to understand a bit about the customs of the people at the time. We’re used to going places and taking a food with us, which we can eat in front of others without experiencing any social requirement to share it with people who are not part of our group. That was not the case in Palestine at the time. If you had food, you could only eat it if you had enough to share with those in the group with whom you found yourself. Hence the disciples’ dilemma - where and how could they get so much food?

It seems to me that we should assume that families took some food along with them when going out into a deserted area with their children. Most of us would grab something for the children (and for ourselves too, in most cases) when racing out the door to see a celebrity, if for no other reason than to keep the children quietly occupied during the event. I don’t think it would have been that much different in those days.

However, no one would have had enough to feed all of those around them, so the food would have stayed packed up, hidden within the robes and traveling bags of the people.

When Jesus told the disciples to share what they had with the large crowd (5,000 men plus women and children), He didn’t tell them He was going to multiply the food miraculously. He just gave thanks for the food they had, asked a blessing on the meal, and began sharing it. With that example, everyone else who had food with them was freed to take it out too, and share it with those around them. It became a great picnic! No one was restricted to only what they owned or had brought. On the other hand, no would have felt compelled to hide or guard what they had. All could share it. And the result was that there were 12 baskets more of food than was needed!

During this week, as we reflect on the great gift of salvation having been extended to all peoples, this lesson is appropriate. We each have something. It may not be much. But it is something that we can share with the community, with our community on a local level and with our larger global community. There are problems that need to be solved. There are wrongs to be righted. There are joys and sorrows to be shared. None of us can do everything. None of us can change all of the structures of our society or our church. None of us can even meet all of the needs of our individual families. However, all of us can step out in faith and do a little bit. Show a little compassion. Give a hand to someone who is down. Listen to someone who needs a friendly ear. Pray with someone who is alone.

As we do this in faith, we join the larger community of Christian witnesses who have truly changed the world, one problem and one little step at a time. Jesus asks us to look at what gifts we have, give thanks for them, and then start sharing them with those we meet. As we respond to His leadership, “miracles” will happen in our world.

Christmas and New Years are times for that bane of all good people - temptation in the guise of Good. St. Ignatius Loyola is well known for this insight into the primary way good people fall from grace. One of the fool proof temptations is to get people so wound up in getting everything right, that they get it all wrong.

Here are some ideas:

Budget your time, money, and calories. Becoming exhausted, financially stressed, and sending your blood sugar into outer space are all great ways to make you feel down, miserable, and ready for a fight.

Prioritize you activities. Turn off the Christmas machine! It’s a time for celebration. Select activities you and your family really want to do. Get help. Delegate tasks. Indulge in just relaxing, breathing, praying.

Don’t try and solve family issues over the holidays. It can happen, but usually it only happens in greeting cards and holiday movies. Be peaceful and prayerful. Take care of yourself and avoid toxic people and situations. You have a much better chance of being successful in handling difficult relationships during less stressful times and occasions.

Decorations and “house beautiful” have nothing to do with a manger in Bethlehem. You and your loved ones will remember and cherish the warmth and the love that come from imperfect decor, meals, and people. The greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones is relaxation. Banish the junk food devil. Holiness is in simple slow food - nothing elaborate - just healthy and good.

Your daily examination of conscience should include rest, wholesome food, plenty of water, and exercise. Remember it’s supposed to be a holiday, not two weeks on a forced march. Make sacred time for yourself - alone with God or at least a good book.

Remember, the truest sign of grace and holiness is laughter. It is a time to have fun. Laughter brings us closer to our family and friends, boosts the immune system, and relieves stress.

Watch out for impulse anything — eating, spending, drinking, or decision making.

If you feel out of sorts, it is time to watch out for the four horseman of the holiday apocalypse: Hunger, Anger, Loneliness, Fatigue. Be peacefully aware of your moods and feelings. You determine how you will respond to people, situations, moods, and feelings. Live in God’s grace and so will the others around you.

Thanksgiving Day in the United States is observed on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a time for family gatherings. The day before the holiday is the busiest travel day in the year. In keeping with its Puritan religious origins, it is not a liturgical holiday, but rather a celebration of a successful harvest and the group’s survival of the brutal winter and spring. Generally, there are no formal religious services. It is a holiday observed by people of all faiths and of no faith. The poor are fed and the rush and loneliness of contemporary life are abandoned for the day. It is a sabbath. Offices, banks, schools, and most stores are closed. The day embodies a vision of the Kingdom, without any of the overt religiosity of the country’s Calvinist social and cultural founders.

The Pilgrims were a group from Nottingham Shire in England and were part of the Puritan movement. Their religious beliefs were generally in line with those of John Calvin. The recognized only two sacraments - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Marriage, as a civil contract, was the province of the magistrates. Marriage existed for the procreation of children and the prevention of adultery. There was no celebration of Christmas and Easter since these were the creations of human culture to honor Christ, who did not need them. They abandoned the liturgical cycle of seasons and holy days, to return to a “pure” Christianity of the very early Church. Their meeting places were not Churches in the traditional sense and had no decoration.

They believed that everyone was predestined to salvation or damnation. Due to the sin of Adam and the fall of the human race, humanity was seen as utterly corrupt. Some people would receive grace, which was irresistible. As a result they would come to faith and be saved. The Pilgrims - unlike the Anabaptists - emphasized the baptism of infants. God’s chosen or elect would probably come from the ranks of those people who led good lives, since they already manifested the sign of divine grace. Sobriety, industry, and the absence of adornment in one’s dress, home and public spaces was the norm. The English Puritans did not believe in the need for bishops or a formal hierarchy. Each group constituted its own church and elected its own officials.

When James I of England (James IV of Scotland) came to the throne, he supported the episcopal model of the Anglican Church, which maintained the hierarchical structure of the bishops. King James, who commissioned the English Bible that still bears his name, sought to bring Puritan groups like the Pilgrims into conformity with the Church of England. The Pilgrims used the Geneva (Calvinist) translation of the Bible and refused the English Book of Common Prayer because of their preference for one’s own prayers and their aversion to reading the prayers of others. King James feared that people who did not need bishops did not need a king. (The Puritan Revolution under Oliver Cromwell was to prove him right on this point.) The group’s escape from England to the Netherlands was as courageous as it was risky - not all of them made it. In the Netherlands they found whatever work they could to support themselves, but they realized that the continued influence of Spain in the area made their longer term presence untenable. The story of their arrangements for their voyage, the trip itself, and the first years is stunning in its complexity of politics, intrigue, and danger. The History Channel’s documentary, Desperate Crossings, presents the truly dramatic history of the group - a history which had been so obscured by myth and legend as to render the actors as two dimensional soul-less characters.

Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for blessings and deliverance and a day to remember the country’s religious founders, whose beliefs have shaped and molded a secular state and a highly religious society.

[Editor's note: Sometimes comments get buried or overlooked. Kathy and I did not want you to miss this reflection on our quote from Thomas Merton from cousin, friend, coach, and eighth grade teacher Andrew Vasquez.]

Thanks Kathy for that beautiful quote! This is my second visit to the site. I am enjoying the thoughtful, insightful writing. I wanted to weigh in earlier, but I was short of time (Surprise, surprise!) Besides, the only thing I’ve really wanted to talk or write about is my daughter’s soccer team, which I just happen to coach. Did I mention that we are undefeated? So, how does this fit into a discussion on cultivating a grateful heart? Suffice it to say that I am grateful to have the opportunity to coach, moreover, coach my daughters! I’m grateful that they show me lots of grace and mercy as I rant and rave on the sidelines, still kidding myself that they are actually listening and willing to respond to me in the heat of “battle.” I could go on and on…

What I really wanted to say was that I have found that when I awake in the morning with a “Good morning, I love you, God Bless you Jesus” on my lips and then actively open my eyes, ears and mind to the manifold blessings He is bestowing on me, even just between the place I brush my teeth to when I get to my classroom and face that first wave of 8th graders, I am not only overwhelmed with thankfulness but I just plain enjoy my day more. The day is full and productive, leaving a lingering feeling of completeness and an anticipation of what tomorrow holds. Now, if I could just string a few more of THOSE days together. It all begins with a simple prayer, yet how easy it is to forget, and neglect that first simple acknowledgement of Him. “Good morning, God Bless, I love you!” It is a simple phrase with great power. It works good with grouchy people we share our homes with too!

“Every breath we draw is a gift of God’s love,

every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings

with it immense graces from God. Gratitude

therefore takes nothing for granted, is never

unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder

and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful

person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by

experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

                       Thomas Merton in Thoughts in Solitude