Emmaus Blog

 Friday, November 29, 2024 “Light the candles, wherever you can, you who have them.”   HARBINGERS OF HOPE   When my mother could no longer put up her own Christmas tree, she gave me a small box of her remaining ornaments. Amidst the faded and chipped balls was a bird made of bright red felt, which clipped onto a branch. It has become "Grandma's cardinal" to my children. For my mother, and many others of her age, the cardinal was a powerful symbol of Christmas. Why?   For one, it is a bird well adapted to the cold, and the flash of red against nature's grey or white background is striking. But there is more to the cardinal’s symbolism. Its very name carries a spiritual connotation. When the early European settlers in America encountered this brightly-colored bird, its hue and plumage reminded them of the red robes and pointed headdress worn by the Cardinals of the Catholic Church. We can imagine that they must have seen the bird as a sign of divine accompaniment. Thro...

 Monday, November 25, 2024: "Know that the Catholic Church in the United States stands with you and stands alongside you," - Bishop Seitz The church's support for immigrant communities must "go beyond words" amid fears of potential mass deportation efforts, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, who is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, said Nov. 20 in remarks to Catholic immigration advocacy groups.   "The church is unequivocally on the side of a community in fear right now, and stands with the migrant community," Bishop Seitz said in a webinar hosted by the Hope Border Institute, a group that works to apply Catholic social teaching to policy and practices affecting the U.S.-Mexico border region.   Bishop Seitz directed his comments "to migrants who are part of our communities, our churches, who work in America's essential jobs, who make their home in El Paso and in this country -- many f...

Emmaus Liturgy for Today:  November 24, 2024 Gratitude and Rituals   PLEASE NOTE: NEW TIME FOR OUR CELEBRATIONS: We begin at 2:15 for Greetings and Welcome and start our liturgy at 2:30.    Join us Today in Person or On Zoom   In Person: Address : 1650 W 3rd St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401   Or on Zoom: tps://us02web.zoom.us/j/5193158573?omn=82744880323 Passcode: 1234   Meeting ID: 519 315 8573 Passcode: 1234   One tap mobile +16699006833,,5193158573# US (San Jose) +16694449171,,5193158573# US We begin with Native American Music:  Call of the Ancestors Ring the Singing Bowl  Steve: WELCOME/INTRODUCTION:  Pat: OPENING PRAYER:   Grandfather  Look at our brokenness  We know that in all creation  Only the human family  Has strayed from the Sacred Way.  We know that we are the ones  Who are divided  And we are the ones  Who must come back together  To walk in the Sacred Way  Gran...