Not long ago, someone asked me, “Why can’t we put the church’s Nativity scene in front of the altar? If it were front and center, wouldn’t we see it better?” There’s an easy answer: The Church says no. The Book of Blessings tells us, “If the manger is set up in the church, it must not be placed in the sanctuary. A place should be chosen that is suitable for prayer and devotion and be easily accessible by the faithful.”  “Must not” are strong words whenever we encounter them. And they’re strong word...

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Do you know when I put up the small Christmas tree in my sitting room? Usually, Christmas Eve in the morning. Maybe the evening before that. I can put that tree up that late Advent day because I don’t have to do all the things you do on Christmas Eve. (And if these words inspire just one young man to consider the priesthood, that’ll be a plus for us all!) You’re travelling. You’re cleaning the house again. You’re getting gifts under the tree. You’re prepping fish or fowl for meals (to say nothing of remembering the allergies that might su...

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John the Baptist speaks words that might make us uncomfortable. Words about sin. Words about judgment. Words about repentance. Sometimes words like these are so uncomfortable that we try to explain them away. Usually, we attempt some sort of history. John preached before Jesus, we say, and he was all about an angry God. Jesus changed all that, talking only about love and mercy. Or we try to pin it on Vatican II—the Council changed all that! At worst, we just shrug our shoulders and say something like: “Oh, nobody cares about that stuff anymore.” Of c...

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I want to tell you about a change. It’s not a big one. But it means something. It means something about Mass, and that makes the small change an important one. Recently, I heard a priest quote a line from the Missal.  The quote came from the section that describes the importance of silence at Mass.  Here’s the quote: “Even before the celebration itself, it is a praiseworthy practice for silence to be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacre...

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At next weekend’s 5:30 p.m. Mass, the linkage between St. Ann and St. Boniface Parishes takes another step.  At that Mass, I’ll be installed as pastor of St. Ann Parish.  It’s an extremely simple ritual: a few words spoken, two pieces of paper signed.  We can do it in any number of ways—an office visit with the Bishop or his Vicar for Clergy, a ritual moment within the community’s normal celebration of Mass. If we imagine this is principally about the priest, we’d be wrong.   Listen to what I’m asked to say...

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A week and a half ago, I walked into St. Boniface Church. Technically, the building was closed. The organ workers needed the space to dismantle the pipes. But I had a key. I needed to get into the church to pick up a vestment from the sacristan. And I was curious about what this project would look like. I’m glad I popped in. Enormous organ pipes were carefully placed over the pews—protected by soft pieces of cloth. Every pipe was lying in its appropriate place—next to its neighboring pipes. Wooden crates were sitting around, all carefully sized and mark...

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The other day I walked into a store. There I discovered that the display of Halloween lawn creatures—skeletons and witches, werewolves and vampires—was just starting to be crowded out by a giant collection of figures from Rudolph—the Abominable and the elf/dentist, the gold prospector and the poor misfit deer. Yes, with the beginning of November, we’re already on the rush towards Christmas (with Thanksgiving getting little more than a polite nod)! That means it’s finally time to talk about the Christmas schedule at our churches. Let me ju...

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Let’s talk about next weekend. That complicated weekend—Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day. Three days that ask us to look in all sorts of directions—into the darkness, into the light, into the very face of death. But, three days that speak of one great Christian mystery—Christ’s triumph over sin and death.  Before Halloween became commercialized (and we probably could say the same in a few months about Christmas), the connections between these observances were a little more obvious. The dark side of Halloween, even the hellish...

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When I wake up these mornings, I run through a series of questions: What day is it? Where am I supposed to go? And, when I get there, what am I supposed to do? I know in time, our changed schedules will fall into a new normal ritual. But that’s not happening these next two weeks! Already, we face some adjustments to what happens in which place on what day—temporary adjustments, but very real ones. WEEK OF OCTOBER 20-24 One of the early steps in repairing the storm-damaged pipe organ begins. The pipes will be removed and taken to Albany for refurbishment. ...

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The letter sits in front of me on my desk. The letter from Bishop Bambera that begins with the words: “In response to the needs of the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton, I am appointing you Pastor, Saint Ann Parish, Williamsport…[you] will continue to serve as Pastor, Saint Boniface Parish, Williamsport.” It sounds pretty tidy. A pastor and a parochial vicar (Fr. Dias received a similar letter the same day) were assigned to two separate parishes. What does that mean in practical terms? How do our lives as St. Ann and St. Boniface Parishes change? How...

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