Rejoice!

On this Gaudete Sunday, I reflected on a number of events this weekend which we're cause for rejoicing in my heart:

On the feast of St. Lucy, the Chancery employees gathered with the Archbishop for a morning Mass followed by a luncheon. It's always a great opportunity to gather with fellow Chancery employees to rejoice in celebrating a great year of ministry together and for me to wear violet while almost everyone else is decked out in reindeer antlers, santa hats and bells (literally!) I should have worn a crown of candles with my violet blouse.

Also, my friend, George Noel, was ordained to the Priesthood yesterday morning in Crookston, Minnesota, on the feast of St. John of the Cross. As much as I wanted to be in the zero degree Fahrenheit weather, I settled for a number of pictures from his Facebook page:

One of my favorite annual liturgies was also celebrated yesterday, but in much warmer Seattle weather. As always, Maria took great pictures of the Simbang Gabi liturgy, which are up on the Cathedral website. It's also the one day of the year when I wear my Filipino blouse. And when my colleague in the Liturgy Office also wears a barong to the celebration, that in and of itself is a cause for rejoicing:

Lastly, day 1 (or rather night 1) of the Simbang Gabi novena began this evening. When Val and I walked into St. Edward's, we thought we were celebrating the Easter Vigil, as the lights in the entire church were off and people were holding these candles:

!Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

Today, people from all over Western Washington gathered at St. James Cathedral to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe, Madre de las Américas. Although I was only able to capture this image of the Guadalupe shrine with beautiful roses, the Cathedral website has great pictures of the celebration, as they always do!

The day began with a rosary in the morning at St. Mary's Catholic Church followed by a procession to the Cathedral. Meanwhile, I was at the Cathedral listening to the Coro Madre de las Américas, watching las danzantes process in with their headdresses and colorful banners, and I even was able to answer a few questions, in the minimal Spanish I know. Even at the reception, when I attempted to get a set of plastic flatware for me and my sister, the lady aggressively told me I could only take one set of forks (in Spanish) and I responded, "es para mi hermana." She allowed me to get an additional fork and thus we were able to enjoy our rice, beans, and tamal.

I'm considering participating in Las Mañanitas at St. Edward's Parish next week, since it's only about a 10-minute drive down the street. There will be a rosary at 8:30pm on December 11th, followed by songs and dances for La Virgen.

Next week will also be the Archdiocesan Simbang Gabi celebration, where a highlight for me is seeing the many styles of parols with all sorts of images of Mary, lights, and colored paper. (This means it's time to break out my maria clara blouse from the Philippines!)

This celebration will be followed by me making the full nine-day novena. Although I usually head to St. Edward's since they offer the full nine-day novena, I'll see if I can make the novena by going to a number of other parishes in the Archdiocese, thanks to this handy calendar of all the parishes celebrating a Simbang Gabi celebration.