Greetings Saint Simon Parishioners,
Back in Ireland we call the Feast of the Epiphany, “Little Christmas.” It is another opportunity for families to gather together. While we always had turkey on Christmas Day, we always had spiced beef on Little Christmas which was more of a treat than turkey. For us children, Little Christmas was as big as a regular Christmas!
The message of Christmas was the same though, that God became flesh in a humble way in Jesus. He was worthy of a king’s arrival onto earth but embraced a path of simple humility and poverty. I love the title given to this day “Epiphany!” It points to a revelation of some sort, an opening of the mind and heart to God. For me, the heart of this feast day is “grace.” God so loved his creation that he gave humanity the special grace in becoming one of us. God’s grace is the unmerited favor of God, unconditional love given to all without distinction, even to the undeserving.
As I reminisce about “Little Christmas” on this feast day of the Epiphany, I would like to share a special gift of music with you. A few days before Christmas, our Choir Director, Tamami Honma, the Cal Arte Chamber Orchestra, and the Saint Simon Parish Choir gathered with friends and put on a fantastic concert, Joy & Light! It was truly a grace-filled concert with beautiful voices and magnificent instruments synchronously delivering sounds of majesty and grace.
I know it was a busy week and many were not able to attend in person. Fortunately, we recorded this concert and Jurgen Krehnke and Tim Peterson fine-tuned the recording, giving us a most wonderful production. You can view the video Joy & Light, The Baroque Christmas Concert here and please share it with family and friends. The concert benefited the people affected by the war in Ukraine, donation link here.
Special thanks to Tamami and all involved in putting on this concert, it truly was a gift. I pray that this music lightens your heart and allows you to celebrate the Christmas spirit again. I also pray that the ultimate message of Christmas and Little Christmas extends to all of us – to strive to be our best selves and allow God’s great gift of grace to slowly transform us into grace-filled people who are kind, gentle, forgiving and empathetic to others especially those who have not earned it.
Happy New “grace-filled” Year.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan
