Christmas Mass 2021 at Saint Benedict Parish

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hello and merry christmas my name is laura and i'm here to get you ready for the awesome non-stop yuletide ride more commonly known as an svp kids family christmas we'll start in just a few minutes but first i want to know who's all here today so if you're on something that has a comment box i want you to go to it and tell me who all in your family is watching today and if you're on something that has a share button i want you to smash it so that other people in your world can join in on the fun too if this is your first time with sbp kids we are super glad to have you here and hopefully this won't be the last time you're with us because we're about to play a little game here's how you play a lot of christmas items are going to appear on the screen and your job is to find the one special item that you'll see at the beginning before the time runs out do you think you can do it i know you can [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] do [Music] that was so much fun how'd you do did you find the candle and then did you find the wreath you know what those two items together makes me think of an advent wreath have you ever heard of an advent wreath before question who out there has ever heard of that you can put it in the comments for those of you who don't know here's a quick history lesson gotta find the right page the advent wreath originated in the 16th century that's the 1500s by the way the tradition symbolizes the passage of the four weeks leading up to christmas the wreath holds one candle to represent each week before christmas the fifth candle emblematizes the birth of jesus the lighting of each candle is accompanied by selected scripture readings this custom actually started in big family settings but now often happens as part of big church worship and how do i know all this because i'm one smart cookie so today we're actually going to take all the advent fun and bring it back to the family setting and now that we're all prepped and primed and know what an advent wreath is let's get on to the good stuff are you ready to start an sbp kids family christmas i don't think you were loud enough i said are you ready to get an sbp kids family christmas started there you go all right i think we're all ready so here we go [Music] the world the lord has come let her receive her keys [Music] sing is [Applause] [Music] joy to the world joy to the world the [Music] savior's songs [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] joy [Music] yep [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow hello and welcome to an svp kids family christmas if you've never watched sbp kids before then you are in for a treat because we have so many fun things planned my name is laura and my co-host matt seems to be running a little bit behind which is so very exactly like him but no matter because it's christmas in fact this year we're going to be talking about an adventurous christmas how many of you have an advent wreath at home if you have some candles at home or if you have your own wreath then you and your family can actually pull it out right now if you want to if you don't have the candles or you don't want to pull it out right now that's okay you can watch too but if you have the candles you should light the candles along with us at home for some of you this could be a start of a brand new tradition and some of you may have already been lighting candles all throughout advent already you'll see what i mean as we go it takes some patience which is tough for me at christmas i don't like waiting do you but these candles are all about waiting and using this time to prepare our hearts and our minds for christmas because this christmas i want you to know that wait a minute i can't take a call now let me just try to cancel that here oh no i think i i answered the call oh boy it's reginald and in the spirit of christmas i don't think i can hang up on him good day fair viewers my name is reginald fastidious the third i am the greatest one man shakespearean bible story and i am here so that you may enjoy my presence and know that this christmas yeah exactly reginald that's what i was telling everyone this christmas we can boldly say that there is absolutely thank you wait what originals we are doing a christmas and thank you my dear viewers lastly reginald it's been a tough year but all hope is not lost yes it is no no it's not yes it is [Music] i just punched myself in the nose reginald unlike you i actually believe that there is a lot of hope to be had especially around christmas that's not what the bible says what are you talking about surprise i've read the bible i see well after performing it for 10 years i finally decided to actually read it and i was appalled oh never behold i am the better the bad tidings during this happy season prepare for the west okay i'm prepared performance thusly um so okay i know we said we were gonna celebrate christmas but i find that when reginald dials in it's just best to let him do his things so we gotta watch him in the beginning god created the universe and all that is in it including our home earth [Music] it is good but don't get used to it [Laughter] god did not say that last part then god created the first human adam but god took one of adam's ribs to make the first woman eve ow i got adam's back adam's back at his back at his back rib i've got his at his back at us back at his back rib however adam and eve broke the only rule god gave them [Music] delightful we've fallen and i can't get up sin into the world and people were separated from god huh things kept getting worse god called an old man named abraham yes lord i will have as many children as there are stars in the sky in the heavens well do you expect me to pay for college no then all of abraham's descendants were enslaved by the egyptians walk like an egyptian okay some of this is in the bible emphasis on some so god spoke to a man named moses who apparently wore abraham's hand-me-downs but he had a stick through a burning bush and told moses he would convince pharaoh to let the israelites go god sent terrible plagues like frogs frogs frogs frogs frogs frogs [Music] eventually pharaoh let god's people go and moses led them to safety by walking through the red sea [Music] but the israelites disobeyed god and couldn't into the land god promised them for 40 years no and then they were ruled by bad kings [Laughter] and the israelites were conquered by the babylonians i think this got to stop reginald reginald reginald penguin wait reginald and scene what oh thank you ah thank you reginald first of all there are tons of stories that you skipped over in the old testament that are filled with hope and joy and peace and love no listen the bible is an amazing story of god's love for us really yes it starts off as a mess but god had a plan to fix it right from the start even when things look difficult god is still working for good and that's where christmas comes in i thought it began in july when all the stores started selling christmas decorations actually it began a long time before that it actually starts with a candle wait are we expecting a power outage no no no this if anything this candle represents a message of ultimate hope and that's where we start the advent wreath it's a centuries-old tradition where people light one candle each of the four sundays before in december to help them get ready for christmas and remember what it's all about what's happening my connection mum must be streaming another hallmark movie mom well i hope he's still watching and all of you families out there take a look at this as we get ready to light our first candle all right how's it looking pretty good yeah yeah oh you want to get that yeah get that piece right there it's tied up just like your shoes okay enough macgyvering it's fine oh you know we just got to get it just right yes okay get it just right get it just ready okay [Music] there we go [Laughter] are we ready yeah in the beginning god created everything he created people and his image to be his friends and it was good but then the people god loved so much turned away from him sin entered the world and everyone and everything was broken for thousands of years people just kind of did their own thing things were looking pretty dark but from the beginning god had a plan to rescue his people to rescue us and he shared that plan with the prophet isaiah go ahead now for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder his name will be called wonderful counselor my god everlasting father prince of peace and that is what hope looks like hope looks a little wonky [Music] no it's oh can i call 9-1-1 i think that's all the hope i can handle today [Music] sorry guys isaiah knew that things weren't going well for most people the people needed to see that god had a much bigger plan that god had promised to send the best repair person ever to fix a broken world the king of kings the prince of peace the greatest doctor god's rescuer was going to be all of these things for all people this candle represents that hope hey sorry sorry i'm late laura matt i can't tell you how happy i am to see you here well thanks um but why were you late well i was out playing reindeer games but i'm ready now uh reindeer games yeah like past the antlers uh the reindeer relay race pin the nose on the rudolph doesn't everyone play reindeer games at christmas i mean those aren't part of my traditions but who am i to reign on someone's reindeer parade but matt we're talking about something else today this isn't just all about christmas this is an adventurous christmas well i thought my reindeer games were adventurous but uh actually i think i can drive home the importance of christmas i can help okay awesome well we just lit the candle for hope so what do you got for us okay well i love how the light from the candle represents hope and i was so excited to win past the antlers which is why i got these super awesome christmas lights and christmas light wherever i go but then i came in second to dasher and rain in the reindeer relay race and second place is really the first loser yeah yeah but that's okay because not everybody can win at every single thing sooner or later we all lose which kind of makes me a winner in the loser's sort of way so yay me okay well that's the spirit i guess but you also mentioned pin the nose on rudolph so what happened during that game yeah well uh that uh that did not go well at all i missed rudolph's butt for his face i put the nose on the wrong end and uh it was an absolute disaster i came in last place for that one oh matt i'm so sorry you lost i bet you were bummed i see what you did there but actually i really wasn't like look at it this way if a loser loses then something happened that was expected right because someone was going to win and someone was going to lose that's what happens in the game yeah but when something happens that we don't expect something kind of really weird or crazy uh then what do we do right because i think when people stand up and say i didn't get what i wanted but they keep going they kind of win and lose all the same time and that's why this loser with my head held high is kind of a winner in a loser sort of way all right all right well you know what that was the weirdest transition ever but you actually have a really good point sooner or later we all face a moment where we don't get what we want it may be losing a game like you did or not getting that gift you really really wanted for christmas we all face that and you know what i want to introduce you i want us to take a look at a family whose christmas journey is looking really different this year but let's see what they do [Music] hey hi you're muted [Music] are you even allowed to use real candles in the door [Music] okay shall i read oh no i've got it here okay but remember no one has heard from god for hundreds of years since isaiah at least that's what we know about it right and then out of nowhere god sends the angel gabriel to an ordinary girl named mary and he says do not be afraid mary god is very pleased with you you will become pregnant and give birth to a son you must call him jesus he will be great and he will be called the son of the most high god he will rule forever over his people and that kingdom will never end you would have flipped out well yeah who wouldn't all right girls can we finish okay so then mary asks [Music] how can this happen i'm not even married yet and gabriel says the holy spirit will make this happen your relative elizabeth will have a child even though she is old that's because what god says will always come true and mary says i serve the lord may it happen to me just as you said it would she just goes with it no way yeah i bet she asked way more questions than luke records here but somehow she chooses not to let this crazy unexpected thing send her into a tailspin that's what real joy looks like wait i want to do it on the count of three one two three you are gonna blow those out as soon as we hang up right it probably helps with the dirty laundry smell i'm not gonna burn down the dorm i promise okay [Music] i've lived through some fantastic christmases and i've also experienced some christmases that weren't what anyone was expecting no matter what this season looks like for you and your family you can find joy real joy i know that might not make any sense but it's true even when things seem like they aren't ever going to turn out quite right you can trust that god is working it all out and that he loves you so much and he won't leave you in the middle of a mess for very long fire i like fire which is why i'm going to move this out of the way while you do whatever it is you're going to do well sometimes you have to find and put the pieces back together in order to find joy and i'm going to do just that what are you doing i'm making cookies obviously because cookies bring me joy you know it doesn't bring me joy all by itself flour or baking soda but when i mix it all together with with chocolate chips and sprinkles other fun stuff i get so joyful shouldn't you have measured any of that oh never mind do you think i can bring the fire back can i light the next candle okay if you really want joy-filled cookies i think you better take that and put that in the oven oh good good thought i'm i'm on it okay so we've lit two candles on our journey towards christmas and as we've lit them we fought about hope and joy now we might be representing these candles in a different order than you're used to but that just makes it more fun because you have to guess what the next one is it's going to be a little tricky but don't worry let's go see what it is now ropes yeah ropes and hot chocolate oh good you did find it i did i did it's a little different this year but you know what it's gonna be great it's okay it'll still be special there we go all right story time okay luke two we're going to read about how god gave us baby jesus in those days caesar augustus made a law it required that a list be made of everyone in the whole roman world everyone went to their own town to be listed and the king's rule meant that everybody had to take a trip back to the place that they came from so right before mary was supposed to have her baby joseph and mary had to go on a long long long trip to bethlehem yep that's right but they didn't have a car like we do did they have a plane [Laughter] they actually had to ride on a donkey oh you know that's right and when they got to bethlehem everybody else had come back too so that means there were no hotels or guest rooms for them so that means mary and joseph had to stay in a place with all the animals would you want to sleep next to a sheep it'd be bad all right now while joseph and mary were in bethlehem the time came for the child to be born she gave birth to her firstborn it was a boy she wrapped him in large cloths then she placed him in a manger yeah god loves us so much that he gave us baby jesus that's right and to celebrate that we're gonna light this special candle to remember how much god loves us do you think you can help me yeah you can do it there you go good job come here your mom's going to get your sister you see your sister be gentle be gentle there you go good job babies change things but the baby we celebrate at christmas changed everything for everyone everywhere the love shown by the son of god leaving heaven and becoming one of us is more than any of us could ever imagine this christmas i pray that the love of god is a huge part of everything you do everything you give and everything you feel did somebody say baby well that is kind of the point of christmas wait why are you so freaked out well my wife could literally have a baby at any moment and i thought that's what you're trying to tell me well as far as i know your baby isn't quite on its way yet but while we're on the subject what do you think about babies matt well nothing says l-o-v-e like a b-a-b-y and here's what i know from being the world's greatest dad you know we we do all these funny and weird things we bring all this junk around just so we can keep a seven-pound noisemaker room speaking all sorts of crazy noises yeah well i guess that's one way to put it babies do take a ton of work and care and attention and special food i remember those days well it was so busy with a baby well because you're so close to having a baby and because i know you want to light the next candle actually i think i need a nap but matt we're in the middle of an sbp kid's family christmas yeah but talk about what it's like to have a new baby remind me that i'm going to have a new baby and i think i needed my sleep when i still can okay well i hope matt can relax which is something that's hard to do this year between all the traffic and zoom parties and the noise and the constant busyness which can all feel really unchristmasy but still there's something going on under all of it that leads us to our next candle [Music] oh so good thank you it is very good thank you and the cookies yeah you would like those [Music] okay i've assigned parts seriously dad not everything needs to be a grand plan oh oh looks like i'm up oh there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby it was night and they were taking care of their sheep an angel of the lord appeared to them dad and the glory of the lord shone around them they were terrified but the angels said to them do not be afraid i bring you good news it will bring great joy for all the people today in the town of david a savior has been born to you he is the messiah the lord here's how you'll know i'm telling you the truth you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared you can do that with your phone now it's a new app keep going and the angels were praising god and they said may glory be given to god in the highest heavens and may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth may glory be given to god on the high of heaven and may peace be given to those who plead with on earth angels left and went into heaven then the shepherds said to one another let's go to bethlehem let's see this thing that has happened which the lord has told us about so they hurried off and found mary and joseph and the baby lying in the manger after the shepherds had seen him they told everyone all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said the shepherds returned they gave glory and praise to god peace on earth with god with people can we do this again peace even just saying that word can lower the tension can't it but this candle represents a piece that's far bigger than just a relaxing breath or a nap this is a peace between us and god this candle actually represents how much god loves you god made a way for you to live with him forever he isn't disappointed in you he isn't angry with you because his son jesus came to earth on a mission god is at peace with you and me christmas is so many different things to so many different people and that's great because this candle in the center of it all is called the christ candle feel good yeah yeah all right let's do this just let mom do it okay i thought you wanted to call the fire department it's all right mom knows what she's doing oh yeah mom got dead so dead how long ago was the first christmas well jesus was actually born about 2 000 years ago 2 000 yeah but christmas wasn't just something that happened a long time ago i mean god sent his son jesus to rescue all of us for all time and because of jesus everything will be made right again we know that we can have hope joy peace and love and when we follow jesus god can work through us to bring hope and joy and peace and love into the world around us so mom what's that candle well that is the christ candle we light it on christmas eve as a reminder that god kept his promise but there has never been a greater gift in this world than jesus can i write it yeah let me yeah okay careful nice wow this was fun this was fun and this is a very lovely advent it is we have here good job mom and thank you christmas is only possible because our journey always takes us to this candle in the middle the one that represents what christmas is all about god's son this candle shines so bright in our lives that it helps put everything else in the right light that is the greatest gift ever it was the first gift of christmas it will be the greatest gift for every one of us forever did i miss the last candle oh look at you you seem all bright and chipper now power nap amazing you should try it sometime i am so much energy it's time to party you know what i think it is too let's sing some christmas carols together merry christmas merry christmas [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] do we're just going to sing a few carols as we prepare for mass so um you can listen i guess [Music] and the mountains in reply echoing their joy is strange [Music] is [Music] so [Music] is [Music] come to [Music] christ the lord [Music] is [Music] [Music] holy [Music] sleeping [Music] peace [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] please is jesus [Music] so [Music] free to the newborn king peace on earth [Music] rise join the triumph of the skies [Music] angelico's proclaim christ is born in bethlehem [Music] incarnate deity pleased man with man to dwell jesus glory to the newborn [Music] king prince of peace [Music] risen with healing in his his wings by form that man no more may die born to raise us from the earth [Music] mark the herald angel seek glory to the newborn king [Music] [Music] [Music] crossed over and cast [Music] to live besides [Music] the promised ones [Music] and they're healing [Music] see from god to [Music] this perfection [Music] this day a save is [Music] conceived in faith [Music] received in love come nearly [Music] this chat of god [Music] [Music] [Music] merry christmas everyone welcome to mass for christmas eve here at st benedict parish i'm matt this is laura we're from the online team here at st benedict and we're really excited to be able to welcome you to our christmas mass and celebrate it with you merry christmas laura merry christmas matt merry christmas everybody i'm so glad that we get to be here like this in this way i know there are way more people watching from home again this year and we want to welcome you we hope that this can be an experience that can help you enter into the real reason for the season tonight that's right i know last year we said extensively that christmas isn't canceled and once again unfortunately we have to say again it's not cancelled it's not cancelled no i said unfortunately the unfortunate thing is that we have to say that again right because of all the restrictions and everything like that but yeah so we're just going to spend a few moments here uh before mass begins help you get situated get settled and just have a great christmas mass with us here uh wherever you're watching from whatever you're watching on there's a chat window there if it's on facebook or on youtube you can type your name in there you can maybe say where you're watching from it should be a lot more people than usual here especially with christmas year that's right uh and we often like to ask a fun question before mass just to give you an opportunity to get comfortable in the chat and so laura you had a question i do have a question this week normally matt asks the question but i wanted to ask a question to everybody and to matt um you might be sitting in front of a christmas tree right now wherever you are and i'm wondering what's your favorite christmas ornament on that tree so matt do you have a favorite christmas ornament on your tree i think i do i'm thinking about like right now our tree has like a lot of woodland creatures on it oh i like that it is nice i think it might be like a moose or something i like the moose on there i think it's quite cute i remember as a kid uh we had this kind of this random like there's like a teddy bear holding the titanic which seems super random but we got it like right in the middle of like titanic fever in the late 90s after the movie came out anyway it's a very nice ornament that sounds super festive it is very festive it's a little unusual but we have we actually have two of those uh without growing up but how about you are you a favorite ornament i have actually so many uh yeah we'll just spend the next 18 minutes doing this then great great i will write an essay about each of them perfect we have the time to do it no we have i am i i have a lot of woodland creatures on my tree as well i love my hedgehogs that are on the tree hedgehogs and my birds but i think that what are most special is i have some from different parts of the world um when my family my parents have gone to travel in different places they often bring home really beautiful ornaments for us and so i have some really cool and colorful and beautiful um magi on my tree wise men yeah exactly wise men and i have i have one that is like a king and he's he he came from africa i think and he's a metal with bright colors but then i have some beautiful glass blown ones as well so those ones are really special to me the ones that i know come from different places and someone thought about me while they were gone and brought it back to me and and now it's on my tree so what are the favorite ornaments on your trees i would love to hear about them in the comments and it's a really great way to start to get to know each other and welcome each other because whether you have been here with us before or if this is your brand new first time we're so glad you're here and we hope that you feel welcome and connected to this community absolutely and if you want to uh kind of continue that connection go to st benedict dot ca slash connect you put in your name and a little bit of information about the things that you're interested here in the parish whether you're interested in children's ministry or youth ministry things like that uh and then you can send that off and uh we can follow up with you uh probably later on probably the new year probably the new year but uh you know if you're having a great experience with us today and you want to make this part of your spiritual home then we would love to have you so st benedict dot ca slash connect we'd love to have you and you can do that if you're local and if you're not too like if you if you still want to be fed by this parish and and feel spiritually alive here you can do that with some of the things we're doing online still and and so yeah going to that website st benedict ca connect just helps us get to know you learn your name and and so that you can know that you're known here because we want to know you absolutely that's right and if you want a little bit more of st benedict in your online life you know we often talk about the experience when you're on social media if you're scrolling maybe sometimes your feed isn't as positive or maybe doesn't have as much uh you know godly content on there and maybe you want a little bit more of that wherever you're watching or wherever you're watching right now and so we're on social media we're on all sorts of social media platforms let's hit me with one we're on twitter which is at saint bp s-a-i-n-t bp spelled out that's right yep we're on facebook facebook.com we're on youtube youtube.com and then we're on instagram at sbphfx we also have an instagram for our youth ministry as well which is sbp underscore youth so pick one where you're at though one of those social medias where you're on usually and use our feed as a chance to sort of bring some prayer and some light into your life as we go forward because you know what the light that came into the world at christmas matt it is not for today and this week only that's right great point because i think we're probably going to have lots of great prayers and things uh they're christmas related throughout the season coming up i know kind of the next few the kind of the next week right now uh in in the catholic church called the octave of christmas which is this fun time where we say hey actually the next week or so that's just as much christmas as the 25th is which is always a fun thing so let's let you on the 27th you can do all your christmas carols and everything else because it's just like that and then afterwards the christmas season continues on even after that that's right the 12 days of christmas actually starts on christmas that's right not so you know that's right the traditional 12 days of christmas that's right you don't this celebration is just kicking off that's right even if you don't have any turtle doves still happening there there were i there were a lot of birds i saw a tweet that made me laugh the other day about how many birds were given as gifts in that song and how just awful that would have been right not ideal not ideal circumstance no matter what's under the tree if it's in the large cage i hope you have a great christmas that's right with them yeah and just yeah anyway on our social media accounts if you follow us there you'll have a little bit more christmas throughout this season as well that's right yeah yeah i'm trying to anything else we need to cover today oh we're gonna be live streaming on uh 9 a.m mass on december 26th okay so sunday mass we're going gonna be having that at 9 00 a.m so you can join us again for that right it's gonna be the feast of the holy family actually laura uh we're kind of appropriately placed for the feast of the holy family because we are standing in front of nativity here that's right we are the holy we have the holy family here uh we're missing an important member of the holy family uh jesus is not here in this moment but he will be here for mass at least i know and here's the truth of what i know is that jesus was born 2000 years ago we're preparing for that in our hearts but he is actually here with us now he is here that's right with you as well and uh and i hope that this christmas is a chance for you to just even notice him in a new um new way for you absolutely so uh we'll just take a few moments now uh just to settle our hearts and then we're going to have our opening song and we'll celebrate math together good evening everyone please stand [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] angels [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] lord [Music] jesus [Music] oh [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen the grace of our lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all and with your spirits merry christmas everyone merry christmas here we go welcome to our celebration of christmas eve here at st benedict parish my name is father alex and it is my joy my privilege uh to welcome you to our celebration this evening especially if perhaps this is your first time at church in a long time or you haven't been uh to church in a while especially those of you online who are joining us wherever you might be watching from joining us you are most especially welcome with us this evening and we hope you're blessed in a special way a couple of things i just want to draw your attention to as we prepare and enter into this amazing celebration this evening versus there's a few more restrictions so those of you online can't necessarily see there's a few less people than we would like to have here with us this evening but we are uh following all the protocols to stay safe one of which is that we're not allowed to sing okay and so we ask that uh we you allow the uh the singer uh to respond on your behalf uh throughout this mass and we know that worship is most fundamentally an action of the heart and so let the singers be your voice and join your heart in worship during the celebration of mass today one of the little things that we do here at st benedict as a way to enter more fruitfully into the celebration is to make sure everyone's being prayed for personally so what i'd like you to do or invite you to do is just turn to somebody nearby maybe something you don't know you haven't seen before and just give them a little wave a little nod of the head perhaps and i want you to pray for that person during mass and if you're watching online i'd love for you to maybe type your name into the chat and as those names scroll by i want you to name and i want you to pray for that person during mass today so brothers and sisters we begin by first calling to mind our sins by acknowledging the ways that we fail to respond to the grace and the gift that god offers us to become the people he created us to be and so let us call those to mind and bring those before him to ask him for pardon and peace i confess to almighty god and to you my brothers and sisters that i have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words in what i have done and what i have failed to do through my faults through my faults through my most grievous fault therefore i ask blessed mary ever virgin all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the lord our god may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life [Music] [Music] lord have mercy christ [Music] have mercy [Music] lord have mercy [Music] lord have mercy [Music] glory to god in the highest [Music] and on earth peace to people of good will we praise you we bless you we adore you we glorify you we give you thanks for your great glory lord god heavenly god almighty father lord jesus christ only begotten son lord god a lamb of god son of the father [Music] you take away the sins of the world have mercy on honors you take away the sins of the world receive our prayer you are seated at the right hand of the father of mercy on [Music] are the us high [Music] jesus christ with the holy spirit in the glory of god the father a man a [Music] man a man a man [Music] let us pray oh god who glad in us year by year as we wait in hope for our redemption grant that just as we joyfully welcome your only begotten son as our redeemer we may also merit to face him confidently when he comes again as our judge who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever a reading from the book of the prophet isaiah the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shone you have multiplied the nation you have increased its joy they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest as people exalt when dividing plundered for the yoke of their burden and the bar across their shoulders the rod of their oppressor you have broken as on the day of midian for a child has been born for us a son given to us authority rests upon his shoulders and he is named wonderful counselor mighty god everlasting father prince of peace his authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace for the throne of david and his kingdom he will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore the zeal of the lord of hosts will do this the word of the lord thanks be to god [Music] today is born our savior christ the lord [Music] oh sing a new song to the lord sing to the lord all the earth sing to the lord bless his name tell of his salvation from day to day today is born our savior christ the lord declare his glory among the nations his marvelous works among all the peoples for great is the lord and greatly to be praised he is to be revered above all gods today's born our savior [Music] cries the lord [Music] let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice let the sea roar and all that fills it let the field exalt and everything in it then all shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy today's born our savior christ the lord rejoice before the lord for he is coming for he is coming to judge the earth he will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth today is born our savior [Music] [Laughter] [Music] a reading from the letter of saint paul to titus beloved the grace of god has appeared bringing salvation to all training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled upright and godly while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great god and savior jesus christ he it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds the word of the lord [Music] i [Music] is [Music] good news and great joy to all the world today is born our savior christ the lord who we are [Music] [Music] the lord be with you a reading from the holy gospel according to luke in those days the decree went out from caesar augustus that all the world should be registered this was the first registration and was taken while quirinius was governor in syria all went to their own towns to be registered joseph also went from the town of nazareth and galilee to judea to the city of david called bethlehem because he was descended from the house and family of david he went to be registered with mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child while they were there the time came for her to deliver her child and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn in that region there were shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night then an angel of the lord stood before them and the glory of the lord shone around them and they were terrified but the angel said to them do not be afraid for see i am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people to you is born this day in the city of david a savior who is the christ the lord this will be a sign for you you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising god and saying glory to god in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favors when the angels had left them and gone into heaven the shepherds said to one another let us go now to bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place which the lord has made known to us so they went with haste and found mary and joseph and the child lying in the manger the gospel of the lord you ever been christmas caroling anybody i i have a couple times you know it's super anxiety inducing to be going out there knocking on random people's doors wearing santa claus hats and colorful scarves belting out christmas carols uh you know it's not like in the movies you know in those hallmark christmas catholics christmas caroling at least in canada my experience has been you're you're trying to avoid frostbite you got snot coming out of your nose you kind of look like this guy a bit and just hoping to sing on key and not forget the lyrics now back when i was in seminary so when i was studying to become a priest i went christmas caroling this one time it was probably an atypical experience there was a filipino priest who organized a group of us together into this christmas caroling quintet and so so we went off and we didn't just go to random doors he had arranged with different filipino families living in different parts of toronto and so we it was kind of like targeted caroling if you will so we went up to this home and uh and we had with us you know somebody had a guitar somebody else had a gem bait you know so we had our own little drummer boy and and and of course our angelic voices right and so we we approached this first home rang the bell and uh and they were there expecting us and and so they're like yeah come in come in come in and we're just getting ready to start singing and they're like no no before you sing you need your strength and so they laid out this four course meal for us to eat now i don't know if you know much about filipino culture i love filipinos they're they're all about food and family and faith and sometimes in that order and so anyways there was this huge meal it was wonderful and and then after we'd gorged ourselves we're like okay we gotta we gotta get our our instruments and our music and and we sang one or two christmas carols and then they're they were like so happy like well now we need to reward you with a meal and so they laid out even more food bigger than the than the first time and by this point you know i'm already loosening a belt buckle and the priest is like okay come on we have to we have to go to the next home so we drove off to the next place and knocked on the door and they're like oh come in come in and we're getting ready to sing they're like no no before you sing you need your strength and they laid out another meal and so we did the same triathlon eat sing eat and we we had to do it again i think we visited at least four homes it was it was unbelievable you know i love food but that was crazy and let me tell you i vowed never to go christmas caroling ever again i did a bit of research on caroling there's a fascinating history i can't get into all of it but they they believe the first christmas carol was written in the year 129 a.d that they were very rare at the time and it wasn't until the 1200s saint francis of assisi when he was the one who popularized them and said you know what we need to have these songs sung at church you know up until that point they were seeing all these dour hymns during christmas mass and it's like we need to add a little bit of joy here people and so that's what happened now if you look at many of the traditional christmas carols i'm not talking about frosty the snowman or rocking around the christmas tree or whatever i'm talking about joy to the world angels we have heard on high oh holy night there's a sense of awe and wonder there's a sense of hope and joy in these songs and yet i realize we're living in such strange times as it's just been decreed by the government that we're not allowed to sing and for those of you who are watching at home maybe maybe it's not that weird you're still getting the our beautiful musicians leading us online but in the church it feels kind of weird doesn't it just to be sitting here is i never imagined my whole priesthood i'd be telling people you're not allowed to sing i forbid you to sing and yet here we are i was thinking to myself you know even if we were allowed to sing what would there be to sing about i mean you know the situation as well as i do as the numbers continue to increase certainly here in nova scotia and in most places that i'm aware of you know whatever degree of control that we had up until this point that's gone uh there's there's not a lot of awe and wonder and hope and joy tell you what there's a lot of fear people i'm talking to there's a lot of fear and and some for themselves but many people they have this genuine fear for other people they love their parents their children people with health problems who are high risk and at the same time as there's fear there's a lot of people who are experiencing frustration you know every time we think we're out of this thing it's it's like another wave when is this going to end and my guess is that for most of you you've had to change your plans christmas dinner it's like it's been reduced to 10 people within your bubble so who do you uninvite or those who are planning to travel maybe you've had to change their plans i know of of several people who are planning to fly to ontario and they've they've decided to to drive instead i don't know if they're going to lose the money on their flights or whatever others have just decided we won't see family at all this year christmas mass off again on again you know and i'm i'm glad that we're able to to offer some masses in person but it's very limited and and those of you who are here i hope you realize how special it is that you've been able to come we have already turned people away at the door at this first mass and i imagine that will happen every single mass and it breaks my heart and then there's others who are just hunkering down they're so afraid and all they have to look forward to is another lonely christmas and we're left with this question even if we were allowed to sing what would there be to sing about well it turns out that first christmas wasn't all that different imagine joseph and mary this young couple they're engaged they're expecting they're not yet married she's full term and there they are at home you know wrapping the gifts and and putting the ham in the oven and they're heading out the door for christmas eve mass at the cathedral nazareth and i'm just kidding i made all of that up you know they're jewish right so anyways the point is mary and joseph they had plans they were preparing and all of that got blown up a news conference or the equivalent right at harold comes into town and says hear ye hear you the government agrees that everyone in the world should be registered so you gotta go to your hometown and get registered and so mary and joseph these first-time parents as if there's not enough uncertainty mary's due any day it's like okay pack your bags pack the tents pack some food pack some pots and pans to cook over the fire grab the donkey he's not too happy to be making this journey either and they begin this week-long journey south towards joseph's hometown of bethlehem and you might know the story it's a treacherous journey and when they finally arrive they knock on the door of a local establishment and it's made clear there's no room at the end can you imagine the fear and the frustration that mary and joseph would have experienced they're they're being sent to this stable with this dirty cave with dirty animals i mean in the ancient world in the ancient roman world childbirth was extremely dangerous for both the child and the mother one in 50 women died in childbirth and usually because of poor hygiene poor sanitation and they're being sent to a stable hello like there would be fear there would be frustration what do you mean there's no room for a pregnant mother meanwhile in some nearby fields there were shepherds who were doing the night shift watching their sheep they probably had fear and frustration as well i mean i'm speculating here but shepherding wasn't exactly a lucrative profession the poor were were the shepherds scraping together a living they couldn't even go home at night to be with their families probably had a fear of the future will we have enough they're living under the roman this roman regime the governments imposing restrictions and taxes and they were oppressed and they too had to go get registered i'm sure the shepherds experienced fear and frustration and then one night suddenly this angel appears and it says they are terrified they went from being afraid to being terrified and the first words of the angel do not be afraid do not be afraid if you're feeling fear right now do not be afraid and i add if you're feeling frustration do not give in to anger and then continue i am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people to you as born this day in the city of david a savior who is the christ the lord and then this whole multitude of angels they showed up and they started singing actually lied to you earlier i said the first christmas carol was written in 129 a.d the first christmas carol was written in 080 and it was the gloria which we the choir sang earlier uh tonight we sing most sundays the gloria glory to god and peace to people what a great message glory to god and peace to people you see no matter the circumstances no matter what caesar augustus says no matter if there's an omicron variant no matter how much fear and frustration and chaos we do have something to sing about because we can be filled with joy we can be filled with good news because god sees us and he's offering a solution to all that we're experiencing now i suppose god could have just like snapped his fingers kind of like thanos if you're a marvelous uh fan and and instead of do something really bad he could have done something really good he could have just fixed everything like that but god offered a much more personal solution he offered a person god sent his son jesus to be born two thousand years to be born into our broken world i didn't wait for us to to first overcome all of our fear and frustration he didn't wait for the perfect moment in history when everything was tickety-boo he didn't wait for things to be in perfect order where there was justice and perfect harmony between all peoples jesus came into the muck he was born in a manger he was born among jewish people who were oppressed afraid angry people these people they didn't have control and yet no amount of fear no amount of frustration no amount of chaos had the power to stop jesus from coming that's christmas jesus showed up god is with us and this is good news for us because no matter how afraid you might feel or no matter how frustrated you might be because your plans got messed up even if this isn't the christmas that you wanted and we're hoping for it doesn't matter because jesus is coming anyway in fact he's already here god is with us and so we do have something to sing about now just to be clear don't sing you're not allowed to sing unless you're at home you can sing from home you can sing in the shower you can sing in your car whatever but for the time being we're not not allowed to sing at church but i tell you what we can do we can make a decision today to accept this gift that god is offering this gift of jesus his son who has come to be with us even in the mass but you see jesus is the ultimate gentleman he doesn't impose himself on us he just kind of shows up he's he's kind of knocking at the door i think of those christmas carolers they come and and it's a choice for the homeowner to say you know what am i going to keep the door closed am i going to open the door or will i welcome them in kind of like those filipinos who welcome welcomed us in and and fed us you know sharing a meal in the middle eastern culture and in most cultures it's not only a sign of hospitality it's a sign of intimacy when you have somebody into your home to eat is saying you know not only are you my friend your family you're one of us you're you're in my spiritual bubble if you will there's no amount of limits that can separate us and so too we can invite jesus into our hearts to be with us and you might be wondering to yourself okay well what does that mean or i feel a bit afraid of this or uncertain what will happen to me if i invite jesus into my heart i love this quote from pope john paul ii he said at the very beginning of his papacy do not be afraid open wide the doors for christ and i know personally that when we do this life gets better it doesn't mean that the problems go away that suddenly there's no more changing circumstances or there's no suffering or chaos and there's no more fear or frustration but in the midst of that underlying all of it there is a sense of awe and wonder and joy and hope because jesus is here there's this beautiful scripture verse that describes jesus knocking at the door maybe you've heard it before revelations chapter 3 verse 20 behold i stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door i will come into him and dine with him and he with me i want to end with a brief time of prayer just give you an opportunity right now especially for anybody who is feeling fear or frustration this isn't the christmas that you hoped it would be jesus is still coming and he's knocking at the door his desire is to enter your heart he wants you to experience him being with you in the midst of all of it and so i'm just gonna ask everybody whether you're here in the church or or at home to close your eyes just close your eyes try to put out all the all the other distractions all the other people it's just it's just you right now close your eyes and picture this scene there's your hearts [Music] and there's a front door to your heart and jesus [Music] is knocking on the door just try to picture that scene he's waiting you can respond in all kinds of ways you can you can keep the door closed if you want you're free you can open the door a crack [Music] or you can swing wide the door to christ i just want to give you a moment just in silence to picture that scene and respond decide how you want to respond to jesus who's knocking right now on the door of your heart [Music] she says there's people here right now people watching right now who are so afraid you know that [Music] people who are so frustrated this loss of control having a change once again this feeling of hopelessness in the midst of all of it i know jesus that you want to say to each person right now you are not alone i am with you come lord jesus come and be with us [Music] [Music] at this point in the mass we usually stand together and profess our faith in the creed uh according to the nicene creed i acknowledge that they're probably different people in many different places along the faith journey and you may not believe everything that we're about to say but this is an opportunity to respond in faith to the extent that you want to believe we invite you to join us as together we profess this faith and there will be a moment where normally we bow when we refer to the incarnation of jesus uh and on christmas day and and christmas eve we kneel at that moment so i'll invite you to kneel when we get to that moment when we get to that point i believe in one god the father almighty maker of heaven and earth of all things visible and invisible i believe in one lord jesus christ the only begotten son of god born of the father before all ages god from god light from light true god from true god begotten not made consubstantial with the father through him all things were made for us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven please kneel and by the holy spirit was incarnate of the virgin mary and became man you may stand for our sake he was crucified under pontius pilate he suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father from he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end i believe in the holy spirit the lord the giver of life who proceeds from the father and the son who with the father and the son is adored and glorified who has spoken through the prophets i believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church i confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and i look forward to the resurrection of the dead in the life of the world to come amen today we celebrate the birth of emmanuel god with us and we invite him to be born again in our hearts jesus took on our human weaknesses he knows our needs and so we turn to him who brought us out of darkness and into the light trusting him to hear and answer our prayers for all christians throughout the world that the prince of peace whose birth we celebrate today will lead us to greater love and unity we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer for nations and for individuals who are experiencing violence natural disasters injustice and suffering of all kinds that deep and lasting peace may reign in all the nations of the world in our homes and in our hearts we pray to the lord lord hear our we're the parishes of the divine renovation network and today we pray especially for saint william parish in chicago and their pastor father reiser graham that the holy spirit will work powerfully to renew them we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer for this parish in thanksgiving for our advent time of preparation to welcome the lord more deeply into our lives and that we may share with one another the hope and joy of this holy day as we join together to worship the one who is son of god and son of mary we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer for those who are not able to be with us today for those who are mourning for those who are in hospital or are homebound and for all the sick and the suffering that they may know god's loving kindness we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer for those who have died especially john rasmusser that they will be welcomed into the glory of our great god and savior jesus christ we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer now we're going to take a moment and pray for our prayer partners from the beginning of mass and so you may just want to acknowledge them and offer a silent prayer up in your heart at this time we pray to the lord jesus messiah god with us we celebrate your abiding presence and ask you to hear our prayers and bring them to the father for you reign in glory with him and the holy spirit now and forever amen is is is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] so bring him in [Music] salvation [Music] is [Music] is is is right [Music] sisters as we look forward o lord to the coming festivities may we serve you all the more eagerly for knowing that in them you make manifest the beginnings of our redemption through christ our lord [Music] the lord be with you and with your spirit lift up your hearts we lift them up to the lord let us give thanks to the lord our god it is it is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks lord holy father almighty and eternal god for in the mystery of the word made flesh a new light of your glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind so that as we recognize in him god made visible we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible [Music] and so with angels and dark angels with thrones and dominion and with all the hosts and powers of heaven we sing the hymn of your glory as without and [Music] holy holy [Music] heaven and earth are full of your glory [Music] blessed is [Music] you are indeed holy o lord and all you have created rightly gives you praise for through your son our lord jesus christ by the power and working of the holy spirit you give life to all things and make them holy and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name therefore oh lord we humbly implore you by the same spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration that they become the body and blood of your son our lord jesus christ at whose command we celebrate these mysteries for on the night he was betrayed he himself took bread and giving you thanks he said the blessing broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when supper was ended he took the chalice giving you thanks he set the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me the mystery of faith and drink this cup we proclaim your death [Music] o lord until you come again [Music] [Music] therefore o lord as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven and as we look forward to his second coming we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice look we pray upon the oblation of your church and recognizing the sacrificial victim by whose death you will to reconcile us to yourself grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your son and filled with this holy spirit may become one body one spirit in may obtain christ inheritance of your life especially with the most blessed virgin mary mother of god with blessed joseph her spouse with your blessed apostles and glorious martyrs with saint benedict and with all may this sacrifice of our reconciliation we pray lord advance the peace and salvation of all the world be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim church on earth with your servant francis our pope and brian our bishop the order of bishops all the clergy and the entire people you've gained for your own listen graciously to the prayers of this family whom you have gathered before you in your compassion o merciful father gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world to our departed brothers and sisters and to all who are pleasing to you after passing from this life give kind admittance to your kingdom there we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory through christ our lord through whom you bestow on the world all that is good through him and with him and in him oh god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours forever [Music] [Music] at the savior's command and formed by divine teaching we dare to say our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil deliver us lord we pray from every evil graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ lord jesus christ who said to your apostles peace i leave you my peace i give you look not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign for ever and ever amen the peace of the lord be with you always and with your spirits let us offer each other the sign of peace oh [Music] lamb of god you take away the sins of the world [Music] lamb of god you take away the sins of the world [Music] lamb of god you [Music] behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world blessed are those who are called to the supper of the lamb lord i am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be him uh in a moment we will begin the distribution of communion and because of the way restrictions are and the need to stay socially distant the way we'll do this is a member a minister of holy communion will come right to you where you are in your pew so please remain right where you are if you intend to receive communion simply stand and extend your hands as we approach uh if you don't you can sit if that's easier for you and once you have received communion we ask that you please be seated so that we can see if if we've missed anyone [Music] [Music] [Music] oh holy night the stars are brightly shining it is the night of our dear savior's birth [Music] is [Music] a new and glorious on your knees [Music] all night [Music] when christ was born [Music] [Music] all night [Music] is [Music] sweetly gleaming [Music] the king of kings [Music] born to be a friend oh [Music] all night [Music] when christ was born [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] david we fall to our knees lord we adore [Music] the light of your love shines bright on this holy night your love shines bright on this holy [Music] and with angels above we bow down before you [Music] the light of your love shines bright on this holy [Music] on this holy night so let us pray lord we pray that we may draw new vigor from celebrating the nativity of your only begotten son by whose heavenly mystery we receive both food and drink who lives and reigns forever and [Music] almost saying amen to my own prayer look at that you know well uh as we want to thank you for joining us for our celebration tonight uh just a few things before we head out the first is we if you'd like to give today you can do that a few ways we do have baskets in the foy if you brought an offering you'd like to join to your act of worship this evening you can give online at st benedict dot ca slash give and you can give all sorts of ways whether e-transfer tax credit debit all that kind of thing and just a reminder that um we made a commitment back in may that ten percent of what we collect here at st benedict we're going to give back to the community to those who are most in need and one of the fruits of that is something that just happened yesterday in fact we've built a couple tiny homes on the property here at st benedict do we have some pictures of that no okay we've got some little tiny homes uh for uh those for a couple street people and so there are two people who are oh there we go there they are right there uh who have been taken off the street and have a warm place to live they have electricity they're heated and and that's the fruit of your giving here at st benedict just by virtue of what you give throughout the year so if you'd like to give today again ten percent of that goes to serve the people in our community that's actually uh darren uh is our first occupant and he comes to church here and we met him uh he lives in the community nearby so it's really cool to be able to make that connection and and the difference that you're making by your giving as we head out today just please be mindful of the ushers will dismiss you row by row so that we can leave in a manner that's socially distant and safe and i would like to wish all of you and your families on behalf of our whole parish and our pastor father simon a very merry christmas the lord be with you may almighty god bless you the father and the son and the holy spirit amen go announce the gospel of the lord thanks be to god [Music] is [Music] nature [Music] you [Music] and wonders of [Music] hear the joyful sound of our offering as your saints bow down as your people say we will rise with you lifted on your rings and the world will see that yes [Music] of praise [Music] is you

Channel: Saint Benedict Parish

Views: 2,437

Keywords:

Id: 5mQyPyB1duM

Length: 139min 10sec (8350 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 24 2021