Christmas reflections

A merry and very blessed Christmas to all of you!

1. For the recessional for today's Mass of the Dawn at the Cathedral, the hymn was "Good Christian Men, Rejoice". If you've not heard it, seek it out. The tempo is charming, and there was a lyric that really struck my heart: Now ye need not fear the grave. Christmas is so beautiful! God become man, and fully revealed to the world, no longer hid in the womb of his Mother, this Incarnation is what makes possible the sacrifice of this man's life which made possible our salvation. Our salvation can indeed be found in the Nativity, as this hymn so joyfully proclaims.

2. From Pope Benedict's homily today: "To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as "religiously tone deaf". The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed – our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today’s world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us "tone deaf" towards him."

This selection from our Holy Father is a good explanation for the Spirituality Year in which I am at the seminary. We have a media fast this year--we're not allowed the use of cell phones, landlines, internet, tv, radio, etc. Basically all electronics. Only on the weekend may we use these. And on Sunday their use is only for communication--eg no tv on Sunday. The whole point of our media fast is to help us awaken to God's voice in our lives. The guy who is using his cell all day, with the radio or the tv on in the background all day, is not terribly likely to be listening to see if God is calling him to a priestly vocation. It is much too easy to distract ourselves with all the super-cool gadgets we have. If I have my phone with me, I can text people all the time and never have to face silence, which may have include an encounter with my conscience or with God. Our media fast is truly a good.

A Thought

"Our liturgy contains incomparably more than what our hearts are ready to feel." (Abraham Joshua Heschel)

Written of the liturgy of the Old Covenant...how much more true of the New and Everlasting Covenant.

Another Huy Update

Here is another update on Huy's continued recovery to the fullness of health:

A recent CAT scan showed he has scar tissue on 75% of his lungs (down from 90%) and his lung capacity (how much he can fill his lungs) is right at 30%. All aspects continue to improve, however. His strength is returning and he has been cleared to drive. He is eating well. Huy has some high blood pressure, but they hope that will diminish over time.

In all – he is on the (slow) road to recovery. He is grateful for your ongoing prayers – and grateful for Our Lady’s care and Our Lord’s healing touch.

From St Cyprian

Here's the first paragraph from the second reading at Matins yesterday. It's from a sermon by St Cyprian, and it is stinging. In a way it is also consoling, to see that Christians 1700 years ago were, well, just as pathetic of Christians as I am.

Our obligation is to do God's will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God's will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord's presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will! When then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ.

Huy is well

Thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for my diocesan brother. Thanks in no small part, I'm sure, to your prayers, Huy has recovered sufficiently so as to return to his home. He was able to receive Christ in Holy Communion on 10 November, the first time for quite awhile. "He had a CAT scan on both his heart and his head and both came back showing no signs of injury during his odyssey", wrote one of our priests. He was allowed home this Wednesday, the 18th of November, to recover fully.

Thank you all so much for your prayers.

More Huy

Here is the latest update on Huy (from Saturday, 7 November). He's improved a great deal this week, and is no longer in the ICU.

He is doing very well in his hospital room.

He is completely off the ventilator. Praise God. He had great color in his face, his oxygen was at 100% and he is well on his way toward a full recovery. He wrote that at some point today (Saturday) he anticipates a modification to his trachea tube which will allow him to speak. He was in very good spirits.

New Huy update

On Tuesday, Huy had a tracheotomy. The procedure went well, but I understand the new situation (a trachea tube) is rather bothersome for him. He does, however, seem to be past the danger of imminent death. He is being weaned off the respirator. Please continue praying for his health.

Here is the latest update, from 31 October (written by a priest of our diocese):

In a bit of a surprise, Huy has come down with pneumonia in his left lung. The doctors feel like they caught it in time and are giving him a full dose of antibiotics. He had a fever of 104 degrees – but that has come down in the last day. Because of this set back I anointed Huy once again this afternoon.

On the positive side – yesterday Huy was off the respirator for four hours. Today he will be off the respirator and breathing on his own for two periods of four hours each. He continues to make slow progress. When off the respirator his breathing rate is high (45+ per minute). They would like to see it get below thirty – meaning he is taking deep breaths.