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Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 24, 2007

Christmastide – Christmas Eve

“In the twenty-fourth day of the month of December;
In the year five-thousand one-hundred and ninety-nine from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;
In the year two-thousand nine-hundred and fifty-seven from the flood;
In the year two-thousand and fifty-one from the birth of Abraham;
In the year one-thousand five-hundred and ten from the going forth of the people of Israel out of Egypt under Moses;
In the year one-thousand and thirty-two from the anointing of David as king;
In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel;
In the one-hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;
In the year seven-hundred and fifty-two from the foundation of the city of Rome;
In the forty-second year of the reign of the Emperor Octavian Augustus;
In the sixth age of the world, while the whole earth was at peace —
JESUS CHRIST
eternal God and the Son of the eternal Father, willing to consecrate the world by His gracious coming, having been conceived of the Holy Ghost, and the nine months of His conception being now accomplished, (all kneel) was born in Bethlehem of Judah of the Virgin Mary, made man. The birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh.”

A reading from the Roman Martyrology for December 24.

This proclamation is often sung or recited when placing the Christ child in the manger in the home.

Peace to all in the great joy that God is in our midst.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 23, 2007

Holiday Grace Means Reducing Stress

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.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 23, 2007

Quote of the Day – Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

I came across this quotation today from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. As we prepare to celebrate God’s love for us, in becoming one of us, this is a reminder of how we are to accept that love and pass it on.

“Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. How do we put the love for God into action? By being faithful to our family, to the duties that God has entrusted to us.”

As we enter into the final couple of days before Christmas, let’s try to remember to cherish each other, to take the time to smile and laugh together, to give a hug to someone we love and to take the time to be together. Those are the things that will make Christmas truly memorable. They are the gifts that really matter when all is said and done. And in giving these gifts of love and time, we give the only things that will remain with our families and our children forever.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 16, 2007

Seasons of the Soul

Growing up in Eastern Washington, seasonal changes were an accepted and expected part of life. We knew that the days would get shorter and the nights longer, the weather would get colder, and sometime in late November or early December, the first snow would fall. As we snuggled into our warm houses and settled into winter activities, it seemed only right that we enter into a more reflective, quiet time liturgically too. Advent was a subdued time, with focus on preparing spiritually for the coming of Christ. Christmas cards and Christmas carols, with talk of cold weather and snow, all seemed a natural part of the season. That’s the way it was outside and it was all I knew!

Then I grew up and moved to coastal California. It still got cold in the winter, but mainly the cold was from the humidity. My first Christmas in California, I went home and got my wool clothes so I could stay warm. We only got snow on rare occasions and it never “stuck.” We often had warm, sunny days in December and January. The iris were even blooming in planter boxes in front of the bank in January! My sense of the seasons was completely thrown for a loop. Christmas day, with temperatures in the mid-60s, just didn’t feel quite like Christmas.

I was reassured to find that my mother-in-law, who was born and raised in Southern California, also had problems getting into the swing of Christmas when the weather was too nice. She commented one year that she was really glad the rains had finally come, so she could get into the spirit of Christmas.

I find myself reflecting on these memories now, as we reach Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. Rejoice! we are told. The time is near.

What time is near? Does it have anything to do with the calendar and the way we fill our days with preparations for the celebration of Christmas?

What I am coming to understand is that liturgical seasons have no real existential tie to the physical seasons of the year. If they did, we’d have to have different liturgical seasons in the Southern Hemisphere and in the tropics, because the weather there is totally different from that of northern climes.

No, liturgical seasons are something more. They are seasons of the soul, condensed into a one year period and repeated on a regular cycle, so we can taste them, savor them, and move on to the next. By repeating them on an annual basis, we are able to enter into them differently and perhaps more deeply each time they come around. As we move through the ups and downs of our daily lives, we become more or less in touch with the gifts each season brings. We learn more about longing for God, or about finding “God with us,” or needing someone to rescue us and set us on our feet again! Having the chance to move through these seasons of the soul on a regular basis can help us move through them with hope when the events of daily life bring them crashing into reality in our personal worlds.

So, as we reach this third week of Advent, as we hear the call to “Rejoice in the Lord,” let’s each look into our heart and see what it is we ask of the Lord – what we really want. Then let’s join together in “joyful expectation as we await the coming of Our Savior Jesus Christ…”

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Dec 10, 2007

The Evangelical Prophets of Advent: Preparing the Way

We often think of prophets as people in robes holding a staff rebuking a king or trying to point out the error of our ways. In this season of Advent, the prophets are taking a different tack.

Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, comments in his interview with Krista Tippett, that Evangelicals are returning to an emphasis on personal AND social morality. He recounted how the Catholic Church had continued to emphasize both at a time in the mid-20th century when Evangelicals focused on personal salvation and morality, while Protestants focused on social morality issues such as racism, poverty, and human rights.

Kay Warren responded to a series of questions about their Saddleback, CA church’s mission to combat HIV / AIDS in Africa. Krista Tippett asked her how she could reconcile issues of sexual promiscuity and the use of condoms. Her answer was telling. Kay Warren made an important distinction between ideal positions on morality and their pastoral application. She said that in an ideal world, abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage were ideal solutions to the prevention of HIV /AIDS. However, condoms can’t be disregarded because they save lives in many situations in which women and men have no real control over the behavior of their spouses.

The Warren’s HIV / AIDS initiative has enlisted the help of prominent people on both sides of the political spectrum. People from the left and the right have groused about the other side being included. However, the Warrens, insist that their mission is not about politics, but faith and compassion for all people.

In a previous interview with Jim Wallis, the author of God’s Politics: How the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, and founder of “Covenant for a New America,” Krista Tippett focused on Wallace’s campaign to combat poverty and the dehumanization it brings.

Previous Evangelical leaders, such as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson, have had the ear of the rich and powerful, in addition to the ear of millions of people. Their influence on key political figures from Richard Nixon to the current President Bush has been noted.

According to Krista Tippett, new leaders like Jim Wallace and Rick and Kay Warren now have this same influence, but with a broader message. Wallis not only has the ear of Presidential candidates, but he is close to the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown, and the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd. Rick and Kay Warren are also sought out by the powerful. The difference between this new group of Evangelical leaders and the older group is an emphasis on salvation – personal, economic, and spiritual – as brought about by the activity of God in the assembly – the church. Salvation in Christ comes through the community that is church.

These leaders reflect a broader movement among younger Evangelicals, who are emphasizing the transcendent and the immediate dimensions of faith in ministering to people in need as ministering to Christ. According to Krista Tippett, these young Evangelicals are called the “New Monastics” and live in communities emphasizing simplicity and service to the disenfranchised.

People familiar with the history of Evangelicals and other branches of Christianity will realize that there is nothing “new” in these developments. Yet they are wonderful to behold.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Dec 3, 2007

St. Francis Xavier and Me

December 3 is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, “Apostle to the East.” Francis Xavier was born in Navarre, Spain in 1506, to a wealthy and influential family. However, his family lost their lands in 1512 when Navarre was conquered by troops from Castille and Aragon. His father died in 1515.

Francis went to study in Paris when he was 19 and met Iñigo (Ignatius) Loyola there. To make a long story short, Francis eventually joined with Loyola as one of the founding members of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

Francis is best known for his missionary work in India, Malacca, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan. From 1540, until his death on an island off the coast of China in 1552, he traveled and preached throughout the East, frequently returning to Goa in India. He left behind communities of Christians in each place he visited and pioneered the missionary style of the Jesuit order through the compromises he worked out with the existing Christian community, founded by St. Thomas the Apostle, in India.

There are many biographies and studies written about St. Francis Xavier’s life, teachings, influence in the Church, and miracles.

My family has had a close relationship with St. Francis for several generations in the Pacific Northwest. Jesuits were among the first to arrive in eastern Washington and brought with them a devotion to St. Francis. Growing up in parishes staffed by Jesuits, we shared in the tradition of the “Novena of Grace” each year in March. In fact, my parents’ first date ocurred when my father picked up my mother from her teaching assignment in northern Idaho and escorted her to the Novena in Spokane!

As a child, many of my early memories are related to the family tradition of attending Mass and the Novena from March 4-12. Each year we went, with our own prayer requests, and gathered with hundreds of other people from Spokane and the surrounding areas to praise God and ask St. Francis to intercede for us. There were people we only saw once a year – at the Novena.

Some years the prayer intentions were very practical – a job for a relative out of work, health for a sick relative, help with school work, etc. Other years the intentions were more “spiritual” – help in overcoming a bad habit, help in discerning a life path, greater understanding of the Holy Spirit – little things like that!

Important things happened during or after the Novena. Two cousins who were born during the Novena were adopted into the family – we had been praying for a child for each family that year. Other children have been born into or adopted into the family in the year following the Novena. One of my brothers survived a difficult birth on March 4 and was given an extra middle name, Francis, in thanksgiving. Relatives got jobs. People got well. An uncle returned to the Church as he lay dying during the Novena. My Great Grandmother and my Grandmother both died on First Friday during the Novena.

Sometimes funny things happened, like the year my youngest brother dropped a “steely” marble at the back of the church and it rolled all the way to the front, causing a stir as it went all the way! Mom was not amused, but we’re all still laughing about it.

The relationship with St. Francis is not limited to those nine days in March. At harvest time, when a storm threatens to ruin a crop before the field is harvested, prayers go up to “St. Frank” to protect it. When a relationship needs a boost from the Holy Spirit, prayers go to St. Francis. And when something goes really well, prayers of thanks go up too. It’s good to have a powerful big brother (saint) to help out.

A little over ten years ago, a young man from a Goan family knocked on our front door, hoping to sell a medical software program to a medical group we managed. The software was not what our group needed, but he became a close friend. We found many common threads in our educations, life experience and shared bond as Catholics. He in turn has introduced us to his family and many of his friends, including those who are the founders of Suggestica.com and who have opened this world of internet blogs and vertical discovery engines such as theologika.net to us.

It seems St. Francis Xavier is still looking out for us in this increasingly small, small world and doing his part to continue spreading the Good News.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Nov 29, 2007

Don’t Feed the Bears or the Deceiving Spirits

When I was growing up, Yogi Bear was a popular cartoon. Yogi lived in “Jellystone Park” and, with his sidekick, Boo-Boo, took it as his mission to defeat the park ranger and get picnic baskets from the tourists. It was all very silly and funny to watch.

In the actual world, “Don’t Feed the Bears” was and is a serious statement. Bears are wild animals and play an important role in the environment. However, bears that get used to eating human food or bears that come close to humans can be dangerous. Cute little cubs have fiercely protective mothers who do not hestitate to defend them.

As an adult, I have come to observe that there are other beings who should not be fed. This is the story of one person’s encounter with one of those beings.

It had been a difficult day. The children were out of sorts. She was short of sleep. Her husband was worried about problems at work. Nothing seemed to be going right. To top it all off, like the proverbial cherry on the banana split, he had criticized her housekeeping or some such thing. (Later she couldn’t even remember what it had been.) She got the children to bed, the dog to the kennel and went to bed herself.

Usually, when she’d had a day like that, a good night’s sleep took care of the problem and the next day went better. But that night she couldn’t sleep. She was too angry. She kept going over and over in her mind what had happened and how unfair and unjust it all had been. The time dragged on and she couldn’t calm down. She tried praying the rosary, because often that helped her go to sleep when she was upset or worried, but that didn’t help either.

Finally, it occured to her to ask God to take away the anger and resentment so she could get some sleep. No sooner said than done! Her eyes were closed and she was lying on her side. She had the sensation of the blankets being flung back off of her – and at that instant, there was a cold, bright, bluish flash of light which stung her leg and then was gone. She no longer felt angry or resentful, but rather peaceful and ready to sleep. Thanking God, she drifted off to a restful night of sleep.

A couple of weeks later, she was talking with a friend about what had happened. The friend has the gift of healing, so she knew he wouldn’t think she was making it up. She described what had happened and he said that he could see, looking with his mind’s eye at the scene, what she had not seen. Behind her as she lay on the bed, a golden light appeared. (Golden light is often associated with the divine or the holy – as in halos around the heads in pictures of saints.) The golden light moved over her and exposed the deceiving spirit, forcing it to flee. The spirit had stung her as it left, in anger at being exposed. Then the golden light had covered her and let her rest.

I have often reflected on this woman’s experience. I had never really thought of anger, resentment, jealousy and the other negative emotions as spirits or as having any real “being” outside of the individual person. It would seem that I was mistaken.

I am now very careful about what emotional states I nurture. When I am angry, I try to remember not to feed that “spirit” by dwelling on how I have been wronged. Feeding these deceiving spirits only strengthens them and allows them to reach out and hurt others through me. They tell me I am the one who was hurt, but in my heart of hearts I know that “it takes two to tango” and despite what they might have me believe, I am rarely a totally innocent victim.

In these days of the ending of one liturgical year and beginning of the next, when the readings speak of the last days and of judgements to come, maybe we would all do well to make a sign and post it in our hearts, “Don’t Feed the Deceiving Spirits!”

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Nov 27, 2007

Signs and Symbols – The Advent Wreath

The first Sunday of Advent (December 2, 2007) is fast approaching. The season of penance and hopeful expectation has probably been observed since the fourth century. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before the feast of Christmas, the Sunday closest to November 30, the feast of St. Andrew. Advent wreaths appear to have come from the northern cultures of Europe, whose people used evergreen and holly for various wheels associated with the lengthening of days – the coming of the light – at the winter solstice.

The Advent wreath takes various forms. For Catholics, there are three purple candles and one rose candle. The rose candle is for the third Sunday – Gaudete or Rejoice. Protestants tend to use blue candles. Some wreaths have a white candle in the center to signify the birth of Christ. Advent wreaths were primarily used in homes for many centuries and came to churches only more recently.

A different candle is lighted on each Sunday. In our family, we light each one for the first time on Saturday after sunset, which is the liturgical beginning of Sunday. The first week only one candle burns. The second week, two are burning. By the fourth Sunday, all four are lighted, the first getting very short and the others proportionately taller. The passage of time becomes visible through the height of the candles. During all of the hustle and bustle, it is a reminder for us that the Christmas season begins on December 24th and ends on January 6th or the feast of the Epiphany – The Thee Kings.

You can find prayers and devotions for Advent at many sites. The Episcopal Church at Cornell has a wonderful booklet. St. Louis Catholic parish has a series of Advent prayers and observances at their site. Jeanne Woodward has a great collection of Advent prayer, worship, and study resources at The Text This Week. This is an impressive site, with study and worship materials for several denominations for the entire liturgical year.

For a holiday treat, take time away from food, football, and shopping. Go for a walk and gather materials for the wreath with your spouse and the children. Get a hold of some coat hangers, pliers, and some ingenuity to make the ring for the wreath. You can attach the evergreens and holly ( or other materials) with florist’s wire, plastic bag ties, or other wire. The candles can be placed in simple candle sticks inside the wreath. If you are handy you can even make wire ones.

You can sometimes find or order an Advent wreath frame. However, the key is not to create stress. Arrange some candles – don’t worry about the colors – and some greenery – or small potted plants, light a candle, say a prayer for peace, and hope and yearn for the light.

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Nov 17, 2007

Quote of the Day – Bernard Lonergan on Religious Experience

“Religious experience at its roots is experience of an unconditional and unrestricted being in love. But what we are in love with remains something that we have to find out.” — Bernard Lonergan

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Nov 8, 2007

Fire, Love and God

Kevin Drabinski, editor of our local diocesan newspaper, The Observer, has a wonderful reflection on fire, love and God in this month’s edition.

Drabinski begins by looking at the themes of fire, judgement, and the end of history in the liturgical readings for the end of November, and reflecting on the destructive power of wild, uncontrolled fire as we have recently seen it in southern California. The Church year is coming to a close and the readings shift to thoughts of endings. (The last Sunday of this liturgical year will be November 25, the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King.)

Drabinski then writes of the blessings of fire in its controlled state. Fire in this context is warming, comforting, light giving. He says, “One candle, quietly burning, spells hope and warmth. Many a candle, held by the hands of a crowd, is faith itself. And like faith, a candle’s light is never diminished by its being shared.”

Fire is also an expression of love – human or divine. Images are presented of the use of controlled fire in lanterns, processions, and worship. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was accompanied by “tongues as of fire … [which] came to rest on each of them.” (Acts 2:3) The fire of God’s love, however, cannot be managed or controlled by humans. The author of the Song of Songs describes love, both human and divine, as “flashes of fire” and “a very flame of the Lord,” noting, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

This article is worth taking a few moments to read and ponder as we approach the end of another year. When fire and judgement and the end of history are seen through the lens of the Love of God, we can all have hope.

Posted by Dcn. Randy Pozos on Nov 7, 2007

Saint of the Day – San Diego de Alcalá de Henares

November 7 is the current feast of St. Didacus, a latinized form of the name Diego. (The traditional feast day was November 12). San Diego (1400 to 1463), was a Franciscan lay brother who exemplified the reform movement of his time. He never learned to read or write and devoted his life to prayer, penance, and the service of the poor and the sick. San Diego’s life is an ironic example of a man who found fame and posterity by renouncing them.

San Diego was born in San Nicolás del Puerto in the province of Sevilla, Spain. As a boy, he served a local hermit, taking on that austere lifestyle and raising vegetables for the poor. At 30, he joined the Franciscans and around 1441 he was sent with a small group to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. Despite his lack of education, he became the Guardian of the small convent. Under his leadership and by his example, the observance and piety of the group came to the attention of Pope Eugene IV. San Diego returned to Spain in 1449 and went to Rome in 1450 for the canonization of fellow Franciscan San Bernardino de Siena. There was a severe outbreak of plague in Rome and San Diego became even more highly regarded for his care of the sick and the dying. He lived at Alcalá de Henares from 1456 until his death on November 12, 1463.

San Diego became a reluctant hero, even in death, because of the number of documented miracles that were attributed to him. However, he was not canonized a saint until 1588, due to reforms that the Church was undertaking to remove the lives of the saints from the realm of legend to those of rigorous historical fact. Despite the reformed standards, the holiness of his life and documentation of miracles made his biography similar to those of devotional legend.

San Diego’s wide popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries was emblematic of a major shift in Spanish society. San Diego’s patron, Santiago (Sant Yago – St. James the Apostle), was the patron of Spain and represented her struggle to reconquer Iberia after the Moorish conquest. As Santiago Mata Moros, St. James the Killer of Moors, was a less relevant model as the Reconquest came to a close. San Diego’s example of heroic Christian virtue became a new model of the Christian ideal in the emerging union of the seven kingdoms.

When Sebastián Vizcaíno entered San Miguel Bay in Alta California aboard the San Diego in 1602, he renamed it San Diego Bay, because his men would hear Mass there on November 12. On July 1, 1769, Blessed Junipero Serra would found Mission San Diego de Alcalá on the same bay, the mission which would later give rise to the City of San Diego, California.

Although San Diego now enjoys the obscurity that he sought in life, he should be remembered and celebrated as someone who saw that mysticism and service to the marginalized could not be separated. Spirituality and social justice are the two necessary dimension of meeting and serving the living Christ.