One of my favourite Christmas symbols is the Nativity Scene, “la crèche.” We owe this beautiful tradition to St. Francis of Assisi, who established it in 1223 in Greccio, a humble Umbrian hill town. Francis wanted “to see” and “to reveal” the Most High Son of God, born in the humility and poverty of a stable. To a society where riches had become an obsession, Francis showed the generosity of God. In a Church where the clergy sought honours and power, Francis reminded them of the humility of God.
“Are you the one who is to come? Or are we to wait for another?” This question, posed to Jesus in today’s Gospel, is our question too. As we reach the middle of the Advent season, as we begin counting down the days till Christmas, we are invited to reflect on a vital question: “What … or who are we waiting for?” How should be waiting? Today’s liturgy invites us to cultivate two key Advent attitudes: patience and joy.
You may have noticed last Sunday the banner placed over the altar, with a single word to help us focus our meditation. Last week’s call to VIGILANCE is succeeded this week by an invitation to HOPE. Hope, as we know, is much more than pie-in-the-sky optimism. It is the conviction that even when the night seems dark and cold, the dawn is near: we are not alone, and God will never abandon us. God hears and answers us.
Most Reverend Christian Lépine has appointed Fr. Raymond Lafontaine Episcopal Vicar for the English-speaking faithful and Director of the Office for English Pastoral Services (O.E.P.S.). Fr. Raymond Lafontaine, M.A., S.T.L., D.Th. Fr. Raymond is a priest of the Archdiocese of Montreal, serving as Pastor of St. Monica’s Parish in N.D.G. After undergraduate studies at McGill in Mathematics, and a brief career as an actuary, he entered St. Paul’s University Seminary in Ottawa in 1986, where he received his B.Th. and his M.A. (Christian Ethics) degrees summa cum laude.
This week, many of us attended the keynote conference at the Archdiocesan Parish Vitality Conference: “Set the World Ablaze!” Deacon Keith Strohm, author of the book Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, invited us to embrace as individuals the challenge of naming, claiming, and sharing the gifts God has given uniquely to each of us, and as parish communities to identify and call forth the gifts of all so that parish life is strengthened and the work of evangelization and ministry to those around us is enriched. By now, most of us are familiar with the notion of “stewardship”: to receive God’s gifts gratefully, to cherish and tend them in a responsible and accountable manner, to share them in justice and love with others, and to return them with increase to the Lord.”
St. Monica's Parish