The Crowded Inn and the Unkempt Stable: A Meditation for Christmas
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are just too busy, too full, to is the time to attune your ears likeness of God, but at the � t Christmas, take him in? Are the rooms of to the sound of that invitation. same time, all of us, spiritually we certainly look
From the Bishop
back in time to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem long ago, but we also are meant to examine intently the present moment when that same Jesus endeavors to be born in our hearts. After all, the whole point of the Christian life is to be able to say with St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” To help us with both inquiries, I would propose a meditation for you upon two dwellings: the travelers’ inn at Bethlehem from which the Lord was excluded and the stable in which he was born. Mary and Joseph— bedraggled, tired, more than a bit desperate—arrive at the door of a hostel in a tiny town of Judea. The owner, knowing that his establishment is at capacity and taking into consideration the troublesome nobodies who are seeking entry, brusquely sends them away. The obvious spiritual question for us is this: what do we say when Jesus seeks to be born in our hearts? Do we protest that our lives
our souls occupied by wealth, pleasure, the desire for honor, family, work, friendships, entertainment? Has an ideological secularism caused us simply to set aside any possibility of the sacred and transcendent? And as a result, do we grimace impatiently at Christ when he comes and urge him to find lodging somewhere else? And mind you, Jesus typically comes to us now as he did then, which is to say, in a humble, even distressing, disguise. If he had appeared two thousand years ago in full divine glory, the inn-keeper would have cleared the place out in order to accommodate him, and if he appeared to us in similar splendor, we would undoubtedly let him in. But the one who said, “whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me,” indeed comes to us in the form of the hungry, the homeless, the annoying, the outsider. The great Christmas imperative is: when Christ comes to you, give him room! I’m sure you know that lovely image from the book of Revelation, Christ standing at the door knocking. In his divine power, he could, of course, have simply knocked down the door, but he respects our dignity and freedom sufficiently to give us the opportunity to respond in love to his entreaty. Christmas
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A self-complacent secularism, a crowding-out of the spiritual, might be one reason we resist the coming of Christ. Another is shame. How could the Son of God take up residence in a life as unkempt and scandalous as mine? Dorothy Day made this remark: “I am so glad that Jesus was born in a stable. Because my soul is so much like a stable. It is so poor and in unsatisfactory condition because of guilt, falsehoods, inadequacies, and sin. Yet I believe if Jesus can be born in a stable, maybe he can also be born in me.” Far too many Christmas cards have convinced us that the Bethlehem stable was a warm, cozy, and pretty place. But let’s be realistic: a shelter for animals on the outskirts of an insignificant town in the ancient world would have been dark, malodorous, cold, and decidedly unbeautiful. Yet, that is where Christ chose to be born. We are all indeed made in the image and
Bishop's Calendar
*indicates event is open to the public January 1, Wednesday *10:30 a.m. - Holy Day Mass - St. Patrick, LeRoy
speaking, are something of a mess. As G.K. Chesterton said, “we’re all in the same boat, and we’re all seasick.” Addiction, obsession, the inability to forgive, cruelty both latent and explicit, crippling envy, bouts of despair—all of it has rendered our souls as dingy and unpleasant as the Bethlehem stable. Nevertheless, Christ does not despise our outcast state. He is pleased to be born in the messiest of souls. Mind you, Jesus is not satisfied with our seasick condition; he’s not content to leave us in shambles. Christmas represents the beginning of his life in us, not the end. Once we allow him in, he commences, with the cooperation of our freedom, to become the Lord of every aspect of our lives, turning the stable into a palace fit for a king. So, when you permit him to be born in you, be prepared for more than a little adventure. Perhaps you have been away from church for a long time; perhaps the regnant secularism has crowded out all
- The Chancery, Rochester
Non Nisi Te Domine Bishop Robert Barron
consideration of the spiritual; perhaps you’re convinced that the Lord would never seek intimacy with the likes of you. Flannery O’Connor said that her stories were about “the offer of grace typically refused.” Might I suggest that this Christmas is a moment of grace. Don’t refuse it.
2 p.m. - DOW-R Finance Council The Chancery, Rochester
January 19, Sunday *9:30 a.m. - Mass and Installation January 24, Friday of Fr. Alex Salazar, IVE as Pastor - *8:30 a.m. - Staff Mass - The Sts. Peter and Paul, Mankato Chancery, Rochester 12 p.m. - Pension Plan for Priests January 2, Thursday January 21, Tuesday *8:30 a.m. - Staff Mass - The *8:30 a.m. - Staff Mass - The The Chancery, Rochester Chancery, Rochester Chancery, Rochester January 26, Sunday January 4-10, SaturdayFriday Region VIII Bishops Retreat Florida
9:30 a.m. - Q&A with Upperclassmen - Lourdes High School, Rochester 12 p.m. - Deans Meeting - The Chancery, Rochester 2:30 p.m. - Clergy Personnel January 12, Sunday *8:15 a.m. - Mass and Installation Committee - The Chancery, of Fr. David Medow as Pastor - Rochester January 22, Wednesday Holy Spirit, Rochester 2 p.m. - Bishop's Cabinet - The January 14, Tuesday *8:30 a.m. - Staff Mass - The Chancery, Rochester
*9 a.m. - Mass for Life - St. Olaf, Mabel January 28, Tuesday *10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Mary, Madelia January 29, Wednesday *8:45 a.m. - School Mass - St. Pius X, Rochester January 30, Thursday *10 a.m. - School Mass - Sacred Heart, Adams
January 23, Thursday 9 a.m. - Q&A with Upperclassmen January 16, Thursday January 31, Friday 10:30 a.m. - College of Consultors - Pacelli Catholic Schools, Austin 10:30 a.m. - Anointing Mass - *10 a.m. - School Mass - St. Mary, Caledonia Sacred Heart Care Center, Austin Chancery, Rochester
Officials
The Most Rev. Robert Barron, Bishop of the Diocese of WinonaRochester, announces the following: Diaconal Ministry
Deacon Robert Miller: appointed to diaconal ministry at St. Bernard Parish in Stewartville and St. Bridget Parish in Simpson, effective January 1, 2025. Deacon Placido Zavala: appointed to diaconal ministry at St. Charles Borromeo Parish
in St. Charles, effective January 1, 2025. Finance Council
Rev. Timothy Reker: reappointed to a five-year term on the Diocese of WinonaRochester Finance Council, effective November 7, 2024. Catholic School Boards
Mrs. Lisa Dierkhising: appointed to a two-and-a-half-year term on the Rochester Catholic
Schools Board of Trustees, effective December 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2027. Ms. Stephanie Meyer: appointed to a two-year term on the Pacelli Catholic Schools Board of Trustees, effective January 1, 2025.
Ms. Joni Roehl: appointed to a two-year term on the Pacelli Catholic Schools Board of Trustees, effective January 1, 2025.
