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3 Wise Women |
It is joked that if the three wise men had been women, they would have asked directions and thus arrived in time to help with the birth, cleaned the stable, and brought practical gifts.
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Left to right: Theresa and Roman Rodriguez |
THE RE-GIFT
EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT A RE-GIFT IS. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. IT GIVES YOU SOME PLEASURE THINKING ABOUT THE PERSON THAT GAVE IT TO YOU.
BUT THEN YOU PASS IT ON. YOU WANT TO SHARE THE GIFT WITH OTHERS, TO LET THEM SEE ITS BEAUTY.
WHEN THE THREE WISE MEN FOLLOWED A STAR TO THE STABLE IN BETHLEHEM, THEY WERE ALSO SHARING GIFTS, HOPING TO PLEASE THE NEW BORN KING.
LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT THE BABE IN THE STABLE WAS THE GIFT. HE IS THE GIFT THAT CAME INTO THE WORLD TO US: THE GIFT OF FAITH, THE GIFT OF SCRIPTURE, THE GIFT OF THE EUCHARIST. BUT WE MUST NOT KEEP IT TO OURSELVES. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS GIFT. JESUS IS THE RE-GIFT.
IT’S OUR TURN TO PASS ON THE GIFT TO OTHERS, SO THAT OTHERS MAY KNOW THE JOY OF GOD’S GIFT TO US.
SO GO SHARE THE GIFT.
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Roman Rodriguez gave homily starter
THE
THREE KINGS IN SPAIN
"The
best-loved Spanish Christmas tradition among children is Los Tres Reyes Magos
(the Three Wise Men). Santa Claus is
quite well-known as he delivers toys and presnts, but the real stars in Spain
are los Reyes. These Three Kings are the
ones who followed a star to meet the new King of Kings (Baby Jesus) and offered
him three presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn child in Belén
(Bethlehem).
When
December comes, all the boys and girls in Spain and Latin America start to
write their letters to The Three Kings or to their favorite King: Melchor,
Gaspar or Baltasar. They write about the
things they’d like to receive on the morning of the 6th of January,
(which is the day the presents get delivered) and also about their behavior
during the year. If they’ve been good,
they get presents; if they’ve been bad, they get a piece of coal.
Their
Majesties travel by camel and due to the fact that they come from the East,
they take a long time to arrive to Spain.
Once there, they visit all the cities and villages, and listen to the children’s
requests. This is followed by a spectacular parade. On the night of the 5th, the children
put their shoes by the door before going to bed so that the Kings will know how
many children live there. They also put
out something to eat and drink for Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar, and also
water and grass for the camels. (true, they can last a month or more without
drinking water, but that night they have a lot of work to do, so they need
extra water and food).
On
the morning of the 6th, children find their presents inside and
outside the shoes (it’s very unusual for their Majesties to bring carbones
(coal) because no child really behaves so badly, and many people say it’s not
true that naughty girls and boys get only coal and not toys). The food and drink placed in the plates and
glasses are now gone . The children excitedlystart
playing with their toys, and wait for the next 5th of January to
come around."
C
1996 – 2016 don Quijote Salamanca S.L. All rights reserved.
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Pat McMillan, Lector |
Celebration of Katy Zatsick's birthday after Liturgy
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Left to right: Bridget Mary and Katy Zatsick |
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left to right, Bob, Mary, Jenai |
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Left to right: Marie, Mary Al, Bob, Mary |
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