Our readings for Sunday are here.
These are the poem, my notes, and interpretations of Fr Dennis Dillon SJ’s homilies from the Masses of
- December 10, 2017 Noon
- December 7, 2014 8:30
The poems Fr Dennis references this cycle are:
- December by Gary Johnson on December 10, 2017 Noon
- Winter Grace by Patricia Fargnoli on December 10, 2017 Noon
- A Prayer At a Baptism by John Shea on December 7, 2014 8:30 (Sorry, I can no longer find a version on the web; I only have it in hard copy in my notes.)
In 2017, we reflected that —
- In the first reading (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11)
- the text is the libretto for Handel’s Messiah (“Comfort, give comfort ye my people”), i.e., don’t worry. “Com” “fort” is with-strength from Latin derivations
- just being with one another, with God, is a comfort and strength
- presence is not about changing things, necessarily, but about being. When we wait upon the Lord, when God comes, the very presence of God changes things. The ground is leveled and we can then walk on the level –> 🙂 so preach the Good News, shout it out! 🙂
- Mark is the first gospel written and the first to use the term “Good News,” i.e., I’m writing Good News, Good News that Jesus proclaimed.
- In Gary Johnson’s poem December
- we pass time with singing or humming, e.g., Handel’s “Messiah,” perhaps 🙂
- a poem is a form of hymn
- the everyday-ness of Jesus and Christmas, his coming, now, into our untriumphant lives
- going forward into the dark, we don’t understand — it’s our going forward without head knowledge or certainty is what marks our faithfulness of heart to walk with Jesus.
- In Patricia Fargnoli’s poem Winter Grace
- it is about asking for comfort without asking (“truth is found in silence”)
- the passage of time, preparing for God, and how if we go out & turn to God, God is right there
- bread — “piled up like a white beaver hat”
- feast — “on the picnic table”
- wine — “to be swallowed by water”
- The Presence — “then you have seen beauty”
- Transubstantiation — “and know it for its transience”
In 2014, we reflected that —
- In the Gospel according to Mark
- there are no infant stories
- it is the shortest gospel
- the most used word in this gospel is “suddenly.” It gives this gospel a very edgy feel relative to the other gospels. “Suddenly” Jesus went here; “suddenly” Jesus went there …
- in Mark, John the Baptist points the way to Jesus
- The Isaiah reading
- has excerpts used as the libretto for Handel’s Messiah, which happened to be being performed at Hill Auditorium that same weekend.
- and, it is always a good reminder that Handel’s Messiah was originally composed and at first performed at Easter time.
- John Shea wrote a very long poem about John the Baptist, “The Man Who Was a Lamb,” (which rl couldn’t rummage up on the web at this point) and plays with almost every gospel passage about John 🙂 but, since it’s so long, D2 shared a shorter John Shea poem about baptism, “A Prayer At a Baptism” (which rl also can no longer find on the web, only hard copy in her notes).
- We recognize and respond to the prayer to be God’s people and recognize each other as our own in the verses “We made you [wee baptized Johnny] our own // by making you God’s [through the Sacrament of baptism]”
Our featured image is one of the works of Professor Bill Burgard‘s. It is the lamb of Isaiah and the Messiah, and the image for one year’s production of Handel’s Messiah by the University Musical Society. Hill Auditorium (acoustically perfect) usually sells out all 3300 or so seats; the stage is filled with orchestra, the UMS Choral Union, and more.
Bill Burgard is on the faculty of The University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design. I always loved this design and am realizing he also did one of a holy king for the production in another year. I use both as part of my nativity scene at home, a Peruvian ceramic set (Mary, Joseph, the three wise guys, a couple llamas, no shepherds, and one baby Jesus — not added until Christmas morning, of course!). I use a Tibetan silk fabric of the richest blue as background and set all in one of my book shelves (I guess that makes me go with the theological option of Jesus born in a cave rather than a stable). I add stars (lights) and angels, but the two Burgard images add the lamb, king, and prophecy of sacrifice and divinity.
I use this image of Bill Burgard’s with his written permission; do not copy or otherwise use or separate it from this site, please. Here is the link to Bill Burgard’s personal website in which you can peruse more of his (secular) art, if you wish!
The Surest Sign 