Sharing the Season
Dear Editor: I have been a church singer and guitarist for many years and have worked at several churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Presently, I am the singer and guitarist at Sts. Simon and Jude Church in Gravesend.
Every year, I send cards to my friends, family, and coworkers at the churches. I like to also include a poem in each card.
This year, I traveled to Maine, and the lighthouses inspired me to compare their guiding light to Jesus, who is the light of the world, especially at Christmas time.
I read The Tablet every week, and I always enjoy your articles.
Merry Christmas!
Kathie A. Bistreich
Dyker Heights
Editor’s note: Below is Kathie Bistreich’s poem entitled “Song of the Lighthouse”
“This summer we ventured to Maine, as the lighthouses beckoned to me,
When I thought good and hard about why, it brought biblical thoughts of the sea.
I pictured Jesus walking on water, as He calmed the tumultuous sea,
And the disciples watching in wonder, and thinking, “How can this be?”
A lighthouse depicts beauty and calmness, until darkness covers the earth;
Then the lights come on to guide us, as we realize the magnitude of its worth!
This lighthouse is like Jesus, shielding darkness from our life;
And shining its light when we need it the most, when faced with stress and with strife.
The music of the sea can be loud, and life is not always serene;
We need the song of the lighthouse, as the melody on which we can lean.
So now when I see a lighthouse, it isn’t just a building I see;
It’s a symbol of my Jesus, who brings light to the world and to me.”
In Response to ‘The Many Titles of Mary’
Dear Editor: The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree on Nov. 5th stating, “The Blessed Mother cannot be referred to as a co-redemptrix and discourages her being called mediatrix of all graces,” which should be viewed with much skepticism (“The Many Titles of Mary,” Dec. 6).
I much prefer the Rosary Encyclical of our late Pope John XXIII, in which he said, “Always turn with ever-increasing confidence to the Virgin Mother of God, to whom Christians have always and principally resorted in adversity, inasmuch as she was constituted the source of salvation for the whole human race.”
Paul Manheimer
Oakland Gardens
Healing After a Loss
Dear Editor: Thank you for the inspiring article on Melissa Enaje and Anthony Rappa (“‘With God, Nothing Is Impossible,’ Dec. 6). They dealt with the loss of their baby, Isabella, with faith and courage. Truly, God is closest to those who suffer and, for the parents of those who lose a child, He consoles them in a special way.
At the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, every year on the Feast of the Presentation on Feb. 2, we invite parents to present the names of the infants they have lost, and we offer them to God at Mass. Entrusting our children to the Father who gave up his only son for us gives us the confidence and hope that we will meet them one day in eternity.
Paul G. Cerni
Prospect Heights
Good Holiday Fortune
Dear Editor: On Nov. 30, I had the good fortune of attending the noon Mass at St. Joseph in Astoria. While it is not my parish, I was visiting friends in the area so I attended Mass there.
I was so moved at this Mass that I felt compelled to share my personal experience. There was a guest speaker who also had a gifted singing voice. His name is Al Barbarino, a lay-Franciscan.
He spoke after Communion with such a powerful message of Advent and Christmas, like none I’ve ever heard before.
I saw people so moved by his message that they were crying, including me. Within a span of 10 minutes, this man delivered the most powerful message I’ve ever heard regarding what it means to be a Christian, and even more so, Catholic.
We were told at Mass that this man has been doing this for 34 years, going around the world and helping support the Franciscan Friars with the renewal of their shelters. This was a phenomenal Christmas story for me to share. God bless you, Al, and keep propagating the Faith.
Robert Albignano
Franklin Square