The WHAT? My sister Jackie and my brotherin-law Lonnie were enjoying a quiet evening at home. It was one of those rare days between Christmas and New Year’s Day that our family didn’t have a gathering. For as long as I can remember, just about every day between the holidays has a gathering. Whoever shows up … shows up. These gatherings are not “command performance” events but rather a reason simply to gather. So Jackie and Lonnie were enjoying an evening home while watching television in the midst of Jackie’s Christmas Wonderland. Jackie loves to decorate for any holiday but Christmas brings about a Christmas Wonderland that could easily compete with any display created at Bronner’s in Frankenmuth.

As the story is told, the two of them (along with Patches the cat) were quietly watching television. There was a moment of silence as the show they were watching was making a transition to what eventually seemed like an endless sequence of commercials. Out of the blue, Lonnie blurts out to Jackie, “When are those three dudes bringing the gifts to the baby?” Jackie was speechless and confused. First, his comment came out of the blue, and second she had no idea at first what in the world he was talking about. Sensing her confusion, Lonnie repeated, “You know, when are those three dudes bringing those gifts to the baby.” Jackie burst into laughter when she realized Lonnie was talking about the three magi and the Feast of the Epiphany. “You know what I meant,” Lonnie said. “Yea, I know what you meant,” Jackie replied. “But really … the three dudes?” Stop! Rewrite the songs, “We Three Dudes of Orient Are ….” I’m still laughing! Happy Epiphany!

Evening Prayer Schedule Change: For over a year now, we have been praying Evening Prayer as a parish community each Monday through Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Church. Many may not know but the Evening Prayer we pray comes from the Liturgy of the Hours which is known as the “official prayer” of the Church. If you’ve never heard about the Liturgy of the Hours, I encourage you to learn more about it.

Here is some information about the Liturgy of the Hours from the USCCB Website: “The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office or the Work of God (Opus Dei), is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer. The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer. At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world. The Divine Office ‘is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father (Vatican II: Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 84).’ The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God. Each of the five Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation. The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle: the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.

“In the Hours, the royal priesthood of the baptized is exercised, and this sacrifice of praise is thus connected to the sacrifice of the Eucharist, both preparing for and flowing from the Mass.

“The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour and readings from the (Church) Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer ( Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1177).”

Beginning this week, we will modify our public praying of Evening Prayer to only Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Praying Evening Prayer on Mondays got complicated because the schedule had to be changed often to accommodate our Religious Education Program events or liturgies in Church.

The expectation for any group meeting on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening or any group with an event that is taking place on these days is to work their schedule around gathering in Church for Evening Prayer at 7:00 p.m.. Many have found Evening Prayer before a meeting or event to be a great way to gather with fellow parishioners before embarking upon various evening activities around the parish.

For those who want to know the “bottom line” of how much time it takes, count on no more than 10 minutes. Those ten minutes can do much to help us refocus and re-center on God after a long and busy day. Plus, our gathering in Church for Evening Prayer gives us an opportunity to give God thanks not only for the work we have accomplished during the day but also to ask His blessings upon the work and/or meetings our parish will embark upon that night.

For those who may want to start praying the Liturgy of the Hours regularly, there’s an app for that! Search for iBreviary or Divine Office in your app store. The prayers in the iBreviary and/or Divine Office app are what we print on the handouts when we pray Evening Prayer.

Happy New Year! I have to go now and see if those Three Dudes brought those gifts to the baby Jesus!

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers.

In Christ,

gmb
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