I wanted to include some items of note before today’s Meditation:

     1) Our Christmas Eve Festive Candlelight Eucharist was a very joyful celebration of Christ’s birth with Roslyn Gantt- Simmons singing a solo, "Only a Baby Came,” and the singing of Silent Night at the closing with the church lights dimmed. Everyone had a candle and a small child brought the Baby Jesus to the crèche and placed Him in the manger. The sanctuary and church were beautifully decorated and we welcomed a large number of visitors and their guests. Thanks to the many volunteers who stayed after church the previous Sunday to make our church so beautiful, welcoming and warm.

     2) Everyone enjoyed some sherry and cookies following the Family Candlelight Service and received personal Christmas cards from me. Toasts were made and everyone enjoyed themselves!

     3) Thank you in advance for your completed 2025 Pledge cards. Your pledge will enable us to build the 2025 Budget while operating with a deficit. Your generosity is very much appreciated.   (If you haven’t decided on your pledge, please prayerfully do so and return it in the offering plate, the US mail, Email or to the office in the next few weeks. Thank you).

     4) Thank you also for your special Christmas donations above and beyond your pledge. St. Nicholas is a very unique faith community and your donations give us some extra dollars to continue God's work both inside and outside our walls. (You should have received the 2024 Christmas Letter to the Parish and the special offering envelope in the US mail after Christmas. Sorry for its late arrival and it’s too long a story to explain why that happened). If you are disabled and can’t come to church, please put your donation in the US mail addressed to the church at 7227 Penn Avenue, Richfield. Thank you very much.

     5) The Spanish Eucharist was another joyful celebration of Christ’s birth with sherry toasts and a lot of laughter! Baby Jesus’ were blessed and it was a holy time!

     6) Please look at our Facebook page and find quotes, inspirational words and our events on it. Share with others so they can see how vibrant we are and possibly join us on Sundays.

     7) Next office hours will be on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm if you’d like to see me about anything. Please call me in advance to set up an appointment - 320 339-4852.

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Weekly Meditation - 27 December 2024

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Here’s my wish for you and your loved ones for this week:

A Christmas Blessing by John O'Donohue

May the Angels in their beauty bless you.

May they turn toward you streams of blessing.

May the Angel of Awakening stir your heart

To come alive to the eternal within you,

To all the invitations that quietly surround you.

May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds

Into sources of refreshment.

May the Angel of the Imagination enable you

To stand on the true thresholds,

At ease with your ambivalence

And drawn in new direction

Through the glow of your contradictions.

May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes

To the unseen suffering around you.

May the Angel of Wildness disturb the places

Where your life is domesticated and safe,

Take you to the territories of true otherness

Where all that is awkward in you

Can fall into its own rhythm.

May the Angel of Eros introduce you

To the beauty of your senses

To celebrate your inheritance

As a temple of the holy spirit.

May the Angel of Justice disturb you

To take the side of the poor and the wronged.

May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you

In worth and self-respect,

That you may live with the dignity

That presides in your soul.

May the Angel of Death arrive only

When your life is complete

And you have brought every given gift

To the threshold where its infinity can shine.

May all the Angels be your sheltering

and joyful guardians!

 

See YOU on Sunday at 10:00 am or on Saturday at 4:00 pm for La Santa Misa en espanol. Happy Christmas Season to you and your loved ones!

 

Your servant in Jesus,

Fr. Rob+

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