How did Joseph feel?

We went to church early on Christmas Eve so we could find a place to sit. As we have done during the past three years we picked a small church in the mountains, to avoid the crowd and appreciate the celebration. We sat in the first pew listening to the Christmas choir and looking at the decorations, waiting for the church to fill and Christmas Mass to start.
Kids are reading books. I am trying to pray... It's snowing  outside and I worry about driving down the mountains in the dark.  I always tend to worry.

There is a large Nativity scene near the altar and I notice Saint Joseph. As I stare at him, I think about how he must have worried on that evening and night when he arrived in Bethlehem with Mary. They probably had no money and could not find a place to stay. Then Mary tells him she knows the baby is coming soon now. Did he panic? He did not have a safe and warm place for her to give birth. They find a stable, a place for animals. Probably not clean and comfortable. How did Joseph feel welcoming his first born son and placing Him in a manger? What a humbling experience for a father, especially for Joseph, who knew Jesus was to be the son of God. Then people find out and come to see the baby, to pay homage. They all witness the poor and raw circumstances.

I wonder how worrisome and trying that experience really was for Saint Joseph. The Bible does not tell us much about it. He was a man, like all of us, with doubts and fears. But he had faith.

Faith is a gift we are all born with, but like every gift, it has to be nurtured with practice and patience.

Christmas Mass is now about to start. I pray I can continue in my path of worrying less and embracing joy more.

Thank you for your sacrifice and example of faith, Saint Joseph.

The real Christmas light

Sometimes things just click and so it did tonight for me, while we were doing a light show with the children. During Christmas time, we drive around different neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights.
But why do people decorate their houses and lawns with Christmas lights? Why do you put lights on a Christmas tree? Sure; to make them look cool and beautiful, but where is the idea coming from?
Jesus comes at Christmas. He comes to this dark world to be the light of the world, to show us the way, to be our guide. It's as simple as that. Will we follow Him? That the question.
As we think about that, we can enjoy some very special Christmas light displays, like the one below:

A Christmas gathering and our Christmas letter

A warm gathering of friends at our house for fellowship, Rosary, Christmas music and yummy dessert. 

Thank you to our friend Sara C. for her wonderful eye for photography.

Holy Christmas 2012

Dear friends and family,

Last week we started sending our Christmas letter.
Then, something tragic happened in Connecticut. We stopped. It is a time for prayer and reflection.

God knows suffering. He sent his son to die for us. He knows what it means to lose a son.
Jesus came to bring us hope.
We can help heal this wounded world, if we accept God's loving laws and if we are willing to start saying no to violence: in movies, in the media and in the womb.
This is our new Christmas reflection this week.

Merry Christmas

Enrico and Norine Contolini (and children)

##############################################

There is an unusual Christmas song that our children like called: “Leaving Heaven”, by Matthew West (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JIbAjyuwCU&).  It goes like this:

[…]

I’m gonna walk around that broken Earth

Trading in these streets of gold

So if you ever wonder how much you’re worth

You should know

That you’re the reason why I’m leaving Heaven

[…]

Just a little old manger, in a little old town

But it’ll do just fine for this humble King

I’m leaving Heaven let all the angels sing

I’m gonna walk around that broken Earth

Trading in these streets of gold

So if you ever wonder how much you’re worth

You should know

You’re the reason why I’m leaving Heaven

And when my time comes to an end

I’ll lay down my life like a truest friend

And when I get back home, I’m gonna make some room

So, don’t you worry, ‘cause I’m coming back for you

And you will say goodbye to that broken Earth

You’re gonna walk on streets of gold

And if you ever wonder what my love is worth

Well you should know

That I’m the reason you’ll be seeing Heaven

[…]

Indeed, Jesus left Heaven for us, taught us the “beauty” and value of poverty and of innocent children. He showed us what it means to serve and to love. 

He showed us the meaning of suffering, to not fear it and how to be thankful. In fact, Eucharist (from the Greek Eucharisteo) means Thanksgiving!

So, what have we learned from His example since last Christmas and what do we want to learn from Him this coming year?

As a family, we are trying to recognize our gifts, knowing that from thankfulness comes joy. 

As the book: One Thousand Gifts (http://onethousandgifts.com/) suggests, each member of our family is keeping a list of what we are thankful for. We are slowly working up to 1,000. 

Here are some of our favorites:

Paolo (7):

-          Going to Wal-Mart with mommy

-          The Most Wonderful Mrs. Morrell (my 2nd grade teacher)

-          My new friends Kuba and Brody

-          Tortellini and Subway sandwiches

-          Playing on the Tigers soccer team

Pietro (10):

-          Changing school to Hutchinson Elementary

-          My watch from Zio Franz in Italy

-          My special trip to Utah with daddy and meeting Gail Halvorsen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Halvorsen)

-          Playing soccer at recess

-          Watching Shawn the Sheep on the computer

Emanuela (13):

-          Joining American Heritage Girls

-          Monday and Wednesday nights because they are Gymnastics nights

-          Newborn babies, and little children

-          Meeting and getting to know our distant cousin Gina in Oregon

-          Snuggling

Isabella (14):

-          Marching Band Season

-          New Friends in High School

-          Crater Lake and its amazing blue waters

-          Meeting and touching the Kiwi bird Manaia at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.

-          The feel and smell of the pages of new books

Norine:

-          Losing seven pounds

-          Health, health and health again

-          My $150 piano found at the parish rummage sale and listening to the girls play on it.

-          Kids humming when they are creating things

-          When Paolo wants to sit next to me and hold my hand during our Sunday rosary

Enrico:

-          Norine's pony tail

-          My four day work week

-          Empty beach by the ocean in Oregon and finding star fish in low tides

-          LED Christmas lights that do not need replacing

-          Our weekly Holy Hour and the peace it brings

What is your family thankful for this year?

Our best wishes for Christmas!  

Enrico, Norine, Isabella, Emanuela, Pietro and Paolo Contolini

Advent Prayer

I was going to post about St. Lucia at our house and the date with Norine, but then the sad events in Connecticut brought darkness to the weekend. While our prayers and tears are with the families affected, words cannot express what the hearts feel. So, instead of trying to reason about what happened, I am just going to share a very simple but powerful prayer by Max Lucado, which was posted yesterday here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-lucado/a-christmas-prayer_2_b_2302548.html

Dear Jesus,

It's a good thing you were born at night. This world sure seems dark. I have a good eye for silver linings. But they seem dimmer lately.

These killings, Lord. These children, Lord. Innocence violated. Raw evil demonstrated.

The whole world seems on edge. Trigger-happy. Ticked off. We hear threats of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs. Are we one button-push away from annihilation?

Your world seems a bit darker this Christmas. But you were born in the dark, right? You came at night. The shepherds were nightshift workers. The Wise Men followed a star. Your first cries were heard in the shadows. To see your face, Mary and Joseph needed a candle flame. It was dark. Dark with Herod's jealousy. Dark with Roman oppression. Dark with poverty. Dark with violence.

Herod went on a rampage, killing babies. Joseph took you and your mom into Egypt. You were an immigrant before you were a Nazarene.

Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger.

This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us.

Hopefully,
Your Children

Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit

Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci invented a "floodlight" using a candle to work at night? He also designed a bicycle, a system of ball bearings to reduce friction, he improved the Archimede's screw, he experimented with flying machines and perpetual motion, and much more...
Paolo was at a friend's house today, Norine and Emanuela went to a children chorale concert and so Pietro, Isabella and I, the engineering types, visited the Da Vinci Exhibit: http://www.davinciexhibitdenver.com/. Really impressive!

The Lord withholds no good thing

As we prepare for Christmas, in Psalm 84 we find: "The Lord withholds no good thing", because in the end "life's good things are usually not things".



I like when she sings: "Pain is no measure of His Faithfulness". Jesus came and suffered the ultimate pain for us. Enjoy the journey to Christmas.