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Saturday, November 28, 2015

Liturgy from COLOMBIA-Medellin: CELEBRATING LIFE AND APPRECIATION OF OUR LOVED ONES. Olga Lucia Álvarez Benjumea ARCWP *

GRAPHIC REPORT OF NOVEMBER 27/15 MASS
With the participation of post-punished, the families of Those in prison, mothers, grandmothers, children / as, grandchildren / Were present.
Beginning the Liturgy
Beginning the Liturgy
010

Listening and encouraging community participation of the Word
Listening and encouraging community participation of the Word
015
019
These participated lighting a light, invoking the name of their loved ones by placing the foot of the altar.
These participated lighting a light, Invoking the name of Their loved ones by Placing the foot of the altar.
038
Inviting / as present Community Consecration
Inviting / as present Community Consecration
059
United / os in the prayer Jesus taught us: "Our Father"
United / os in the prayer Jesus Taught us: "Our Father"
With Grandma Maria Elena giving Communion
With Grandma Maria Elena giving Communion
At the end of the Eucharist, each / os giving the blessing.  Invoking the Divine Presence never miss us.
At the end of the Eucharist, each giving the blessing. Invoking the Divine Presence never miss us.
* Roman Catholic presbyter.

Liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent MMOJ Inclusive Catholic Community November 28 2015 Pat MacMillan and Katy Zatsick ARCWP co-presiders, Mindy Simmons music minister



Blessings of the Advent Wreath, lighting the first candle
Presider: Our help is in the name of our God.
All:  Who made all of creation, our heavens and earth.
(Raising our hands we bless the wreath)
All; Loving God,
we praise you for your Son, Jesus our Cosmic Christ:
Jesus is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples,
Jesus is your wisdom that teaches and guides us,
Jesus is your Presence in the peoples of every nation.
Loving God,
let your blessing come upon us
as we light the candles of our wreath this Advent.
May the wreath and its light
be a sign of Christ’s promise to bring us to the fullness of our humanity.
May Jesus come quickly and not delay. Amen.
(We light the first candle)
When we look at the first candle, we remember God’s promise.  God takes care of God’s people.  We know the Gospel witness helps us understand that God loves us and brings peace.  This gives us hope. We anticipate again the birth of the baby Jesus within us remembering that Jesus helps us know God’s love for us.
As the candle is lit we pray
All: Loving God, we thank you for your son Jesus.  Help us to live each day, allowing you to form us in a way that brings forth your kindom on earth in our time and place. Amen.






Opening Song: #38 O come, O come Emmanuel:  Verses 1, 2, 7

Opening Prayer
AllNurturing God, you became human in Jesus and showed us how to live life fully. You know what it means to laugh and cry, to walk and talk, to love and be loved. We know that your mothering presence is always with us. May we, like Mary, rejoice as we give birth to God within us, and may we give birth to God in everything we say and do.  Amen.

Presider: Let us reflect on the areas in our lives where we need healing and reconciliation  (pause for a few moments)

(Extend hands and recite Prayer of Healing)
ALL:  God our Father-Mother of mercies, you reconcile all creation into One  through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Loving Creator send the Holy Spirit upon us for our healing. Through the ministry of the People of God may you receive the peace of healing and reconciliation in the name of our Loving God and of Jesus our Brother, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
…The Word of God. All: Thanks be to God.
 Psalm Response  Psalm 25 #755 “To you, O God, I lift up my soul.” 
Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
…The Word of God. All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation:  Alleluia  (sung)
Gospel: Luke 21:25:-28, 34-36
…The Good News of our salvation. ALL:  Glory and praise to you our Brother Jesus Christ.  

Dialog homily Starter
Michael Morewood:

“Joy to the world!” we Christians sing at Christmas.  But what if we are joyful for the wrong reason? What if the wrong reason actually limits the joy we should be celebrating?

There is something not quite right with our traditional understanding of Christmas.  We have been taught that we are celebrating God coming into our world in the birth of this child, and that sentence highlights the problem.

It is time to reflect on what “coming into” suggests.  For most of my life I understood Christmas in terms of a God who had disconnected from humanity, who lived in the heavens and sent His Son down from to take on human form in the baby Jesus.  There was a “sending” and a “coming into” from outside the earthly realm.

I no longer imagine “God” in that way.  I now believe that everything that exists unfolds with a Divine Presence, always and everywhere active.  There is no “elsewhere” with this Presence.  There is no disconnection from this Presence.  The Presence always has been, is now, and always will be, sustaining everything in existence.

Here on this wonderful planet, where the conditions are ideal for life to evolve, this presence came to magnificent expression as nowhere else in the known universe.  Here, this Presence came to expression in the human, a life form capable of wonder, creativity, love, compassion, appreciation and communion.  Here, the Divine Presence took on human form.

This is our true story, It is the story Jesus knew well because it was embedded in hi own human reality.  It is the story he told.  It is the story he desperately wanted people to hear because he knew it had the power to change their lives.

Christianity, unfortunately, took its eyes and ears away from the story Jesus told, in favor of another story about disconnection from a God in heaven and that only Jesus could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. 

For Jesus, there was no gap.  That was not the story he told.  He wanted people to see the connection between living in love and intimacy with the Divine Presence.  He wanted to see God’s Presence clearly established on earth through belief that all people carried this Presence in their lives.

Rather than celebrating God coming into our world uniquely in this baby, let us celebrate the Divine Presence in every baby, in each of us.  Let us look around our Christmas gathering of family and friends and acknowledge that each person here bears the same reality we acknowledge in Jesus.  We are all human expressions of the Divine Presence. 

Joy to the world, indeed, if people could hear such a story about Jesus and about themselves! 
                                                              (From Corpus Reports Nov/Dec 2015: p 43)

What is my understanding of Michael’s reflection?
What does this reflection speak to my heart?
After reflecting on the reading by Michael Morewood how might I prepare to celebrate Advent and Christmas differently this year?

“Namaste” a translation “My divine soul recognizes the divine soul in you” is very much in keeping with Hindu belief. The literal translation is “I bow to you.”

Profession of Faith: 
ALL:  We believe in God who is creator and nurturer of all. We believe in Jesus, the Christ, who is our love, our hope, and our light. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the breath of Wisdom Sophia, who energizes and guides us to build caring communities and to challenge injustices.  We believe in the communion of saints our heavenly friends, who support us on life’s journey.  We believe in the partnership and equality of women and men in our church and world.  We believe that all are one in the community of creation. We believe that God who calls us to live fully, love tenderly, and serve generously.  Amen.

Prayers of the People of God
Presider: O God, you gave us Jesus to teach us that you hear the cry of those who are poor and those in need.  Give us hearts of flesh that we may respond with compassion.
Response: Loving God within, hear us.
PresiderO God, you reached out to lepers and healed them; help us to embrace the outcasts of our society. Response: Loving God within, hear us.
Presider: Jesus, you talked with the Samaritan woman and healed the child of the Canaanite woman; teach us to cross the thresholds of prejudice.  R.
PresiderFor those who suffer from war, unemployment, addictions and despair may they experience the mothering comfort of God in their lives, we pray.  R.
 (Other Intentions)


PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS
Offertory Song: "Prepare Ye the Way of Our God," to melody from Godspell
Presider:  Blessed are you, God of evolving existence; past, present and future, through your goodness we have bread, wine, all of creation, our own faith and lives to offer as an acceptable gift of our worship. Through this sacred meal may we become your new creation knowing Jesus dwells in the center of our souls. 
ALL:  Blessed be God forever. 

Presider:  God is with you.  ALL:  and also with you. 
PresiderMay we lift up our hearts.  ALL:  We lift them up to God. 


EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Voice One:  Mother-Father, you bring forth all creation from your loving energy of evolution. Lover of all humanity in every age, we praise you and leap for joy in your Presence.

O Holy One of ancient Israel, you revealed yourself in Mary's womb, in a shining star, in humble shepherds, in a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. You embrace us with infinite love in every situation and relationship. You dwell in the depths of our hearts.

We invite you this day to deepen our awareness of your boundless love as we gather around the table of  abundant life. With grateful hearts, we proclaim your praise:

ALL:  We are holy, holy, holy…we are whole.  I am holy, holy, holy…I am whole; you are holy, holy, holy…you are whole; We are holy, holy, holy…we are whole. 

Voice Two:  Praise to you, all-giving God, born of Mary. You are born of the body and blood of woman. We glorify you, nurturing God for the dawning of the sacred promise of God's Anointed, fulfilled in Jesus the Christ.

We celebrate the birth of Jesus, our newborn Emmanuel who came to give us fullness of life. During this holy season we share the bread of awakening consciousness and lift the cup of thanksgiving.  

All: Come Holy Spirit deepen your Presence within us and in these gifts of bread and wine, that they may become the Body of Christ


(please all extend hands as we recite the consecration together)
Presider:  As Jesus gave birth to the Christian Covenant, he took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and shared it with all those present saying:

ALL: Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body.

Presider: Then Jesus took a cup of wine, blessed you Loving God;  shared the cup with his family, friends and disciples  saying:
ALL: Take this all of you and drink from the cup of the covenant, poured out for you and for everyone. Do this in memory of me.

Presider:  Let us proclaim the sacred presence of our nurturing God:
ALL: Christ, by your life, death and rising, you have blessed us with truth and abundance that will never end.

Second Invocation of the Holy Spirit: (placing hands on each other's shoulder)
All: God of all people, You call us "beloved" give us courage to accept your faith in us and to live your compassion in our world. Continue to infuse us with Sophia, Holy Wisdom, that we may serve you in the last and the least.

Voice Three:  As we wait with joyful hearts for the fulfillment of your loving presence in our lives, we remember the prophet,martyrs and saints who have gone before us: Deborah, Isaiah, Mary of Magdala, Peter, Martha, Bishop Oscar Romero, Ita Ford, Maura Clark, Jean Donovan and all those we remember as heros and heroines in our church who inspire us today 
(Community names mentors whom they want to remember, living and dead.)

Voice Four:  God of our dreams, may we give birth to the Word Made Flesh in us everyday of our lives. May we give birth to the church of Your dreams and hopes. May we give birth to a deep reverence for earth and live in harmony with all creatures on the earth.

ALL:  Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, all praise and glory are yours, Holy God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Prayer of Jesus:  All: Our Father and Mother ...

The Sign of Peace: Presider:   Let us join our hearts praying for peace in our world for all people and our planet earth, as we sing first the words, and then add gestures. .
Peace before us, Peace behind us, Peace under our feet, Peace within us, Peace over us, Let all around us be Peace

LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD
ALL:   Loving God, You call us to speak truth to power, grant us courage.  
Loving God, You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice, grant us wisdom.  Loving God, You call us to be Your presence in the world grant us peace.

Presider:   This is Jesus, Emmanuel, God within us, loving us forever. All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love.  ALL:  Jesus you make us worthy to receive you and become your compassion for others.  We are the Body of Christ. 

Presider(lift up the bread and wine)
Let us share the Body of Christ with the Body of Christ!   ALL:  Amen.

COMMUNION Song When all have returned to their seats.
You are the face of God, I hold you in my heart,
You are part of me; You are the face of God.
You are the face of God, I hold you in my heart, You are my family; You are the face of God.




PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
PresiderGod of new beginnings and unending evolution, thank you for nourishing us through our worship as your community. May your tender Presence continue to open our hearts to the daily miracles of life that surround us each day. We pray through Emmanuel, God-with-us. ALL: Amen.

Individual prayers of thanksgiving, last thoughts
Announcements
Introduction of visitors

CONCLUDING RITE-please stand
Presider:  Our Loving God is with you.
ALL:  and also with you. 

BLESSING
(everyone please extend your hands in mutual blessing)
ALL:  May our loving God fill you with radiant joy through out this Advent season.  May our liberating God fill you with  deep peace, and may our compassionate God bless you always with strength to serve those who are broken and excluded.  Amen.

DISMISSAL
Presider:  Let us birth Christ anew in our hearts and our world today. Let us go in the peace of Christ to continue our service in and for the world.  ALL:   Thanks be to God.

Closing Song: #584 They’ll Know we are Christians.  Please sing “our God” for “the Lord” Verses 1, 2, 3.


The sun does not demand a plant to grow more quickly than it should,
it simply shines and allows the plant to soak in the rays that it gives. So should our love be, never forcing but always radiating, allowing growth to happen in time
.~~ T.B. LaBerge





About the Advent Wreath
The color green symbolizes life

The evergreen on the wreath reminds us that God’s love for us never changes.

The wreath is a circle because a circle has no beginning and no end.  The circle means our life with God just keeps going; God loves us and we should always love God.

The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent.
Three of the candles are violet which represent our failures in living fully as Christians
The pink candle which is lit on Laetare (to rejoice) Sunday, the third week of Advent means joy or happiness and reminds us that Jesus will soon be born anew in our hearts at Christmas.  

Taize Chant before liturgy
1st Sunday of Advent

THE MORE I SEEK YOU  by KARI JOBE

The more I seek You
The more I find You
The more I find You
The more I love You
Chorus:
I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in Your hands
Lay back against You and breathe
Feel Your heart beat
This love is so deep
It's more than I can stand
I melt in Your peace
It's overwhelming

Healing from Trauma, Faith in Infinite Love Gives Comfort and Strength

On Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, David Brooks wrote in the New York Times;
 "According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 13 percent of the first responders on 9/11 had symptoms that would qualify as a stress 
disorder...Even many of those who are unlucky enough to fall victim to the horrific pain of PTSD are able to recover and rebuild better lives. These are the people you sometimes meet who have experienced the worst in life but still radiate love and joy."

Brooks goes on to cite Philip A. Fisher, a psychology professor who reports that one of the reasons is that these people have had a caregiver in their early lives who loved them unconditionally and after they suffer trauma they are able to create a new story that gives meaning for their future.   

I agree with the wisdom expressed in this research. 
I also believe that there is another factor faith in the power of divine love to free, heal and transform our entire being and perspective. 
I know people with a deep trust in divine love dwelling within them and embracing them that sustains them as they deal with trauma, loss and suffering. 
In the depths of their souls, nothing shakes them because they experience an infinite source of love that fills them with peace beyond understanding, and this gives them the strength to cope, survive and in many cases thrive. 

Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

Homily for First Sunday of Advent by Roberta M. Meehan, D. Min., RCWP

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent – Cycle C – 29 November 2015

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12 – 4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

It is often said that the key to the central theme of the readings can be found in the Psalm.  This is usually true.  Sometimes, however, this key is a bit hidden.  That is what we are faced with today – an almost hidden theme, hidden right in plain sight!

Let us start by looking at the first line of the Psalm.  “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me….”  Now, that seems like a rather straight-forward verse.  And, on the surface it is.  We need to keep it in mind, however, as we go through the readings and try to discern what our theme is for this First Sunday of Advent.

Advent should be a happy time because we already know the story.  We may be waiting for Jesus – but he is already here!  We have cause to rejoice.  Advent is for rejoicing!

Indeed, this upbeat idea fits right into today’s readings!  And, this idea is in that first line of the Psalm too.  “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me.”  What are these ways and are they really joyful?  Let us examine each of the readings and see.  The readings are all about our learning and knowing the ways of the Lord, which is the plea of the Psalm.  And each reading is up lifting and happy.

In the reading from Jeremiah, the Lord says, “The days are coming when I will fulfill the promise I made to the House of Israel and Judah….In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure.”  The Lord also promises a leader who will do all that is right and just.  Those sound like rather exciting promises!  Imagine the land safe and secure.  Imagine not having to worry about anything that is not right or just and leaders who practice these virtues in all things.  This definitely fits the plea of the Psalm.  This is certainly very positive.

The second reading, from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, is a direct answer to the cry of the Psalm.  “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all…to be blameless in holiness before our God….(We) ask and exhort you…(that)…you should conduct yourselves to please God….”  These are the same directives – the same ways of the Lord – that are found throughout Scripture, particularly the New Testament.  Definitely positive.

The Gospel from Luke also answers the query about the ways of the Lord and specifically mentions right behavior so that we are not caught by surprise.  In this reading, however, the emphasis is on end times and the writing itself is almost apocalyptic in nature as it talks about signs in the skies and disruptions among nations and roaring waves and the coming of the Son of Man.  Even so, we are prepared so again we have a positive and exciting message.

So, if we look at a succinct overview of what we have here, we see that we are looking for the way of the Lord.  We see the promise and what will happen when the Lord reigns in Jeremiah; we see the directives of Jesus (albeit through Paul) in Thessalonians; and we see the warnings of the end times and the coming of the Son of Man in Luke.  This seems to be very much of an answer to the plea to be shown the way – right through history, from the prophets, through Jesus, to the end.  And it is all there for our happiness, for our benefit.

What about this first Sunday of Advent though?  How does this fit – both with the theme and with the statement earlier that Advent is a time of rejoicing?

Advent should be a time of excitement, of exhilaration!  We know the end of the story!  We know Jesus has already come!  This is not a time for being morose.  We are getting ready for a birthday party!  Everyone knows how exciting it is to prepare for a birthday party!  People are happy.  They are singing.  They are wrapping gifts.  They are decorating.  Why does the church think advent must be so somber?  What is wrong with Christmas Carols during Advent?  Nothing, I say!  We’re getting ready for a wonderful birthday party.

We know the story of Advent.  We know about waiting for the Messiah.  Well, here in our readings today we have the whole story!  We have the initial promise, the basic rules for doing what pleases God, and the final coming.  What more could we ask for?

Why are we glum during Advent?  I have never understood that.  And I am excited that this year I have heard a number of people wishing each other a “Happy Advent!”  Indeed, it should be a Happy Advent!!  We know the whole story!  We know how the story will end for each of us individually and we know how it will end for the world.  Our individual ends are in sight; the end of the world is probably several million years in the future.  Regardless, we must still be prepared.  And, we do have those directions.  So we should rejoice.  At least that old stand by “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” has the word “rejoice” in it – even if too many people do sing it like a funeral dirge!

So, what is Advent really about?  Advent is a reenactment of the wait for the Messiah.  The Messiah is already here; Advent is a reminder, a reenactment.

It is also a time for planning a birthday party.  Let us rejoice that Jesus has come as promised.  Let us rejoice that we know the story.  Let us rejoice that we are each invited to take part in his birthday celebration.  The actual wait was over 2000 years ago.  Let us reenact the wait but let us do so with a sense of jubilation because he did come and he is still here among us.

Oh, and have a very Happy Advent!!

-- Roberta M. Meehan, D. Min.



Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community, 1st Sunday of Advent, Nov. 29th, 2015 by Beverly Bingle, RCWP


A week from this coming Monday, on December 7,
we'll mark 50 years since Vatican II issued
the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,
Gaudium et Spes, which said:
”the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing
the signs of the times
and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.
Thus, in language intelligible to each generation,
she can respond to the perennial questions...
about this present life and the life to come,
and about the relationship of the one to the other.
We must therefore recognize and understand
the world in which we live....”
____________________________________
Signs of the times.
Look at them.
Look at the world.
Figure out what the signs say
about life now and in the future.
Figure out what the signs say
about our relationships with one another.
____________________________________
Today's Gospel has Jesus talking about the signs of Luke's time—
10 to 30 years after the destruction of the Temple—
a time of chaos and disruption and diaspora.
He says we can see the signs of the time in nature and in the world
—the sun, the moon, the stars,
the roaring of the sea and the waves,
the shaking of the heavens.
We're warned to stay awake and alert—
not to get sleepy from “carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life—
because the times will “assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.”
We're told to keep watch
and pray for strength to escape what's coming.
____________________________________
We know what's coming for planet Earth.
Scientists tell us
that the sun will burn up all its hydrogen in 4 billion years or so,
and that human life will not survive here even that long,
probably about a billion years.
But we may have significantly fewer than a billion years,
given the signs of destruction we see
as a result of our misuse and abuse of our common home.
We can read the signs of our time.
It snowed last week; winter's coming.
But my spring candytuft has been in bloom for two weeks.
And the elderberries sprouted new leaves this week.
Our climate is changing, and it doesn't look good.
____________________________________
This Advent season can help us get
what Msgr. William Mehrkens calls
an “eschatological perspective,”
a view into the future that reminds us of who we are,
where we came from,
where we're going,
and what’s really important.
It's like the college student
who is more likely to make good decisions and use time well
because she keeps graduation and a profession in mind.
If we don't think about the future,
we can get caught up in day-to-day life
and forget what's really important for the long haul.
____________________________________
Sometimes the signs of the time hit us in a very personal way.
Something changes in our life,
and our world is shaken, even destroyed.
It feels like a cosmic catastrophe.
Our children graduate and move out of state,
our job is downsized,
our spouse has an affair,
we develop health problems—
our world is in shambles.
Whether we see the collapse in our personal lives
or in the world at large,
it takes work to find balance again.
We can't change the past.
We can't control the future.
We have right now, this space, this day, this time
to use what we have
to set our world right again.
____________________________________
So we pay attention to what's going on.
We work at making good decisions in our lives.
We learn to live for others
and to do justice in working for human rights.
We get rid of habits of greed, racism, and violence.
We take time to remember what life’s all about.
____________________________________
Here at Holy Spirit we've been reading the signs of the times
and using the present moment
to bring about that safe and secure world
that Jeremiah wrote about,
that reign of peace and justice that God promises.
We do it with Tree Toledo.
We do it with our donations to local efforts
like the Padua Center and 1Matters and Rahab's Heart.
We do it with volunteer time for UsTogether and Pax Christi
and the Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition and Hospice.
____________________________________
There is hope for us—for all of us.
God is with us, among us, and in us.
So we know that the day is coming.
It will be a day of justice and peace.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue (Washington Church)

www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor

Late Night Catechism with Sister, Links to Clips, LOL!

Sister's Easter Catechism: Will My Bunny Go to Heaven?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxJxEwhrnCk


Sister Strikes Again!: Late Nite Catechism 2 - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jrh_uuPmd0
Feb 25, 2009 - Uploaded by entevents
Starring original writer & star MARIPAT DONOVAN A part of theLATE NITE CATECHISM Series Play ...

Late Night Catechism - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xc2aBh31eY
Jun 19, 2008 - Uploaded by bigmorg18
... stars as "Sister" in the international hit comedy, Late Nite Catechism, one ... Both books (and the subsequent ...

Maripat Donovan stars in Late Nite Catechism - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3NdR0opGE
Nov 24, 2010 - Uploaded by pegburke4
Late Nite Catechism starring Maripat Donovan, author and original star.

Late Nite Catechism: The Original Chicago ... - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NiAF-2IbeY
Jun 30, 2009 - Uploaded by Vicki Quade
Lisa Buscani, as the character "Sister" in Late Nite Catechism. Lisa has been doing this show since 1994 ...

Late Nite Catechism: The Official Site

www.latenitecatechism.info/

This is part catechism class, part stand-up routine. ... Jeffrey Lyons from TV's Sneak Previews calls Late Nite Catechism "something to savor ... YOU TUBE VIDEO.