Holy Innocents

On the Feast of the Holy Innocents, I can think of a no better "read" (other than the daily scriptures!) than this offering from Leticia Velasquez, "A Christmas Letter from God to a Mother of a Special Child".


(I am still vacationing, and look forward to catching you back here in the New Year!)

Unplugging...

Enjoying some time off with the family, and a little bit of a technology break. Hope you are too!

Be back in the New Year!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

All this took place to fulfill

what the Lord had said through the prophet:

"Behold,
The virgin shall be with child 
and bear a son,
and they shall name him
 "Emmanuel",
which means 
"God is with us."

(Matthew 1: 22-23)

From my house to yours,

a very merry Christmas!


This blog, and this podcast on hiatus until after the New Year!

Image courtesy of the Basilica of the Natonal Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In the Beginning was The WORD....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

courtesy of the www.usccb.org

The Marvelous Exchange

On the day of his birth, Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Almighty, and Ever-Living God foregoes heaven’s throne to enter human existence as a babe in a manger.

Christians have long stood in awe of this, mouth slightly agape yet heart rejoicing, naming this Christmas mystery “The Marvelous Exchange.” 

The prayers of the Liturgy chant: “O marvelous exchange! Man's Creator has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share our humanity.”

It is almost beyond human comprehension. And yet, some of the wisest men through the ages have beckoned us to believe it.

St Athanasius, a feisty 4^th century bishop of Alexandria, spent his whole life in and out of exile defending the Incarnation of Christ. He wrote passionately about this marvelous exchange: “For the Son of God became Man so that we might become God.” 

St Thomas Aquinas, the prolific 13^th century “Angelic” doctor of the church, repeated it: "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."

What does this mean for us?

It means that we have grace to become children of God.

How?  St. Paul tells us it is by adoption that we become children of God, thanks to the Incarnation: “When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption… God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ “ (Gal 4: 4-6.)

Jesus taught that this is exactly the condition we need to enter his Kingdom:  “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3-4.)

Look at the Magi – wise men of esteem coming before the little infant Jesus born into poverty. The Magi, men of power and influence knelt (knelt!) before him.

During his public ministry, Jesus preached: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:3.)

This was the mystery before Nicodemus, another wise man, and a devout Pharisee in search of the truth about the Savior.  Hearing Jesus’ words, Nicodemus asked an intelligent question: if I’ve already been born, how can I be born again? 

Today we know what Nick was wrestling with – but now we know the gift of our baptism makes us Children of God. We become sons and daughters of God by grace, not by nature… not by natural birth, but by a spiritual rebirth.

Our life is meant to echo this spiritual childhood We’ve got to let ourselves become little in the way that Jesus did. If He entered into humility by becoming a child, so can we by the power of his grace.

The first thing I learn from this is that childhood is good… and that God is approachable.

Once upon a time, we were children who innocently went about our days without any worries… often living in the bliss of the moment. It was a very Eden-like existence up to a point. Eventually we learned that we had to grow up – to be responsible and mature and productive. There is nothing really wrong with that, except that as adults we often forget our original childhood.

Even worse, some people’s memories of childhood – their holy innocence – are marred beyond recognition – stolen from by violence or inhumanity.

Either way, the beauty and bliss of that child-identity – our original core connection – that of being a Child of God can be disjointed, disconnected, or dismembered.

Enter the Christ Child… and the dawn of something mysteriously new. 

Enter the Child who stepped into Time to promise eternity.

That same Child has the power to make children of us all.

Jesus restores what was lost to us in the Garden of Eden: a life with God. Being baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit calls us to the live this day as if One Day we will live with the Blessed Trinity.

If God became a little child, slipping into the bliss of being held in the arms of his loving parents – just what does that tell us?  There is something holy – and necessary – about being a child. We learn to whom we belong and we begin to know peace.

I weep at the miracle and majesty of Christmas captured in the Holy Babe.  I long to let go of my adultish cares and slip into the bliss of being held in the folds of Jesus’ robe.

When I enter that mystery, when I rejoin, reconnect, and remember that Truth, I re-learn to whom I belong and the peace it brings. I sleep in heavenly peace.

Remembering overcomes The Split: remembering overcomes sin – turning “no” into “YES!” – turning separation into connection, communion.

And there is holy fallout from this marvelous exchange: not only do I have the chance to live one day in heaven but I exchange the lie that I must somehow become my own god. For the truth is I am still a Child of God regardless of my age or circumstance. 

This Child lies at my deepest core; my being is yoked to eternity.

And this I know this when I kneel before the Crèche. I experience the marvelous exchange that comes from that Baby gazing up at me.

©2009 Patricia W. Gohn


This article is also posted over at CatholicMom.com

Image credit

Among Women Podcast on a two-week hiatus...

Looking for a new podcast?  Well, gosh... I miss you too! 

The last Among Women for 2009 was our Christmas show posted on December 15th. I hope you can hold on till Tuesday January 5, when Among Women returns weekly with new shows for 2010.

As you might expect, I'm taking a vacation break to be with my family through the precious days of the Christmas season. Bob and I will be playing music at Christmas services, plus our college kids are home, and well, I just need time to hang out and be Mom... and to cook... and to visit... and to re-connect with loved ones near and far...

So, I'm gonna disconnect the technology tether for just a bit... to create a little more quiet space in my mind, my heart, and my house.  I'm sure you understand!

I hope that you, too, will reach out and connect with friends, neighbors, and family in person during this holy time of year!

Thanks for the support and the prayers and the cyber hugs as I launched Among Women this past year... and thanks for your continued interest in this ministry.

And if your means allow, kindly donate to SQPN so Catholic podcasting can reach even more people in 2010.  SQPN is a non-profit Catholic new media association. Among Women is a happy affiliate.

We'll chat soon!

Women Play Nice!

Check out this video of these very "sporting" women.

Ht: Deacon's Bench.

Pope Benedict: How the Christmas Tree Evangelizes

This struck me in today's scripture...

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment

the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

--Luke 1: 39-45

What's not to love about this passage?  Two holy women... in the presence of God and one another... This is what "among women" is all about... Jesus, Mary, community, blessedness.

Enjoy the waning days of Advent.... O come, O come Emmanuel...

My latest on Today's Catholic Woman... Part 5 in the series "The Church".

Here's a snip:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, (CCC), paragraph 789, teaches that there is an intimate bond between Christ and his Church: “Not only is she [the Church] gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body.”

The Church’s deep connection with Jesus has three aspects.

First, this makes one body of all its members. This unity between all exists thanks to Baptism, primarily, and is strengthened by the other sacraments.

Second, Christ is recognized as the Head of this Body, and therefore, he is a permanent part of it and cannot be separated from the Church. Or, as in the words of St. Joan of Arc: “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know that they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.”

Third, the Church is the Bride of Christ, implying an exclusive life-giving two-person covenantal relationship.

Read the rest here. 

Among Women Podcast #38 - the Christmas edition!

Among Woman #38, our Christmas edition, is posted! (In honor of the season, this show is a departure from our regular format...)

Today’s show is an “audio” Christmas card: 

--A Reflection from Pat Gohn:  “The Incarnation of Christ: The Marvelous Exchange”

    -- See John 14:23, Catechism 526.

--Reflections from Among Women friends and listeners: sharing their favorite Christmas memories.

--A Book Giveaway:  Take Five: Reflections of Pope Benedict   (To enter for this free giveaway, email Pat: amongwomenpodcast@me.com)

--Ways to Support Among Women and donate to SQPN.

--“LIVE JESUS!” -- final thoughts for the New Year, courtesy of St. Francis de Sales.

NOTE: Among Women will be on hiatus until Jan. 5, 2010

Image credit

Avoid being super-Mom, super-Catholic, super et al

Teresa Tomeo's article gets it right!  Let's chill more and thrill more to the fact that Jesus is (indeed!) the Reason for the Season!