There’s a dried-out red poinsettia leaf on the stair. Dang.
Once Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord roll through with all attendant solemnity, comes the time to de-Christmas the church. And the campus. And the rectory.
Our adopt-a-poinsettia program found good homes for dozens of the potted plants; that left only about, oh, a couple hundred others. Anthony Dao, our Factotum of Facilities, spent most of a week removing all that had been so carefully placed in just a few hours on Christmas Eve. Mind you, he is only one, whereas that morning there were twenty or so folks helping to decorate, so his more measured rate of removal is understandable.
All the figures in the nativity scene in the church, in front of the church, and now by the back driveway of the campus, all went into their off-season lodgings first. The Holy Name men waited until the coldest morning so far this year to swing by and dismantle, move, and store the various components of their shelters.
The two trees in the church are sitting outside now, getting used to the weather, waiting to learn where they will grace the campus. The three trees in the rectory came down on successive days, starting with the little one in my sitting room, decorated with all the nostalgic and handmade ornaments I have accumulated, back to the ceramic snowman Miss Taylor gave her fifth-graders back in …oh, never mind the year. Then the big elegant one in the dining room, where we would have had all of our festive meals if the Grinch Variant hadn’t crushed the social season. Finally, the Parishioner Tree in the front office came down, with fifty-six family photo cards carefully removed and stored for reference.
Just like in the church, where the altar cloth and hangings for Ordinary Time come out, so the more mundane trappings of domestic life replace their festive-themed accessories in the rectory. It takes time and effort, but nobody objects. The poinsettias, though, seem to put up more of a fight, if only psychologically. You see, they’re still fine. They’re still pretty. They don’t bother anybody. But it has to be done; if I move quickly, when everybody is distracted at the beginning of the day, out they go before anybody can object. Well, except for the odd dry leaf.
So, as you noticed, the Team is back; Fathers Santandreu and Novajosky are returned, and already up to their eyeballs in Canon Law classes. They allow how they are happy to be here; I know I am glad to have them. I know YOU are glad to have them, as they provide the variety that is the spice of our liturgical life around here. We have also found a frequent-flyer in Fr. Jose Cortes, of the St. John Paul II Shrine, who heroically offered to help me when I was alone on Epiphany weekend, and has kept coming back for the joy of your company, since his Shrine has stayed closed.
And once the Wedding Feast at Cana has concluded, then what? What’s to look forward to? Oh boy, an extra week of NFL playoffs? (Ask Father Santandreu about the Bills’ prospects!) February, burrowed into our homes to avoid catching anything? Finding out by how much we can exceed the snow removal budget? Ordinary Time might be too fancy a term for it! But we are ready; the halls are all thoroughly undecked.
Is it Lent yet?
Monsignor Smith
