{"id":6377,"date":"2012-12-24T10:48:41","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T15:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=6377"},"modified":"2012-12-24T10:48:41","modified_gmt":"2012-12-24T15:48:41","slug":"some-christmas-eve-day-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/12\/some-christmas-eve-day-reading.html","title":{"rendered":"Some Christmas Eve Day Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

First of all, I feel terrible that I left Hyperbole and a Half\u2019s story of her attempt to stage a nativity play at the age of six (\u201cThe Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas<\/a>\u201c) off of my Christmas traditions list<\/a>. \u00a0Hie thee hence and read this wonderful story\/comic. \u00a0Here\u2019s how she handles her own Mary costume:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I felt that the struggles of my character, Mary, needed to be emphasized. The audience really needed to understand that she was suffering. I constructed my costume accordingly.
By the time I was done reinventing her, Mary carried a cane, walked with an exaggerated limp and was completely covered in BandAids.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ok, now that you\u2019re back, and have had a few deep breaths to stop laughing quite so hard\u2026<\/p>\n

Yesterday, at Mass, the priest\u2019s homily was mostly focused on trying to encourage parishoners to go to confession before Christmas, so they could receive the Eucharist at Christmas. \u00a0Advent is a season of preparation, and, now that we\u2019re finally presented with the chance to welcome Christ, we want to be able to greet his coming wholeheartedly, with nothing warping or obscuring out relationship. \u00a0The neighborhood church is running seven straight hours of confession today, to make sure everyone will have the time they need.<\/p>\n

So, it seems like a good time to share a very affecting piece by Fr. Mike Schmitz (\u201cMy Side of the Confessional: What is it like for a priest?<\/a>\u201c). \u00a0Here\u2019s an excerpt:<\/p>\n

\n

But why is Confession a scary place for a priest? It is frightening because of the way in which Jesus trusts me to be a living sign of His mercy.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once told priests that we scarcely realize what is happening when we extend our hands over someone\u2019s head in absolution. We don\u2019t realize, he said, that the very Blood of Christ is dripping from our fingers onto their heads, washing the penitent clean.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I was lucky enough to have this article sent to me shortly after my reception into the Church, before I made my first confession, and it helped me long for this sacrament. \u00a0I was confused when some of the teachers in RCIA talked about how much they loved the sacrament of\u00a0reconciliation\u00a0\u2014 fessing up to what you\u2019ve done wrong sounds like just an uncomfortable duty \u2014 but this article, and the experience of preparing for and\u00a0receiving\u00a0the sacrament myself changed my mind.<\/p>\n

By the time I go to confession, I\u2019ve already done something wrong. \u00a0Telling the priest isn\u2019t reenacting the sin or making it more real (though speaking things out loud sometimes makes me\u00a0notice<\/em> them more sharply). \u00a0The damage is already done. \u00a0When I go to confession, I\u2019m acknowledging my sins so that they can be healed. \u00a0The sins and the wounds they cause me and the people I love are with me from the moment I commit them. \u00a0Confession is the opportunity to accept mercy for them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And finally, over here at Patheos, Deacon Greg Kandra has posted a beautiful reflection on the best advice he ever got about serving the Christmas Mass<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First of all, I feel terrible that I left Hyperbole and a Half\u2019s story of her attempt to stage a nativity play at the age of six (\u201cThe Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas\u201c) off of my Christmas traditions list. \u00a0Hie thee hence and read this wonderful story\/comic. \u00a0Here\u2019s how she handles her own Mary costume: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":6379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parsing-catholicism"],"yoast_head":"\nSome Christmas Eve Day Reading<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First of all, I feel terrible that I left Hyperbole and a Half's story of her attempt to stage a nativity play at the age of six ("The Year Kenny Loggins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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