Dear Parishioners:
We light the final candle on the Advent Wreath this weekend. It is a sign that Christmas is coming soon. Where did the time go over these four weeks of Advent? I still remember just one candle on the first Sunday of Advent, and here we are a week away from Christmas Eve.
How easily we can become distracted by errands, chores, and things we need to do before Christmas. In preparation for the celebration of Christmas, let us break away from the busyness and spend quiet time in prayer with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He knows our worries and speaks to our hearts: "Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give to you… Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
What does Christmas truly mean to us? As Catholics, we celebrate December 25 not as just another secular holiday but as the birthday of the messiah, the birthday, in the words of St. Leo the Great, of life itself.
Saint Joseph seeks Lodging in Bethlehem, Tissot c. 1886-1894
We live in a special time of hope and joy every Advent and Christmas, which has little to do with holiday sales. Jesus Christ is Emmanuel – "God with us." Sharing gifts with friends and family is a wonderful tradition that springs eagerly from our Christmas joy.
But the noise of the secular season should never drown out the quiet voice of God's love made flesh in the birth of Jesus. Bethlehem, for each of us individually and the world as a whole, is the beginning of something entirely new and utterly beautiful if we ask God for the purity of heart to possess it.
The world we know today is not so different from the world of the first Christmas. For Mary, there was nothing sweet or easy about being pregnant and unmarried in the rough hills of Galilee. She had her faith in God, but whether she had the understanding of her local relatives and friends is another matter.
Nor would Mary's story have been easy for her betrothed, St. Joseph. No matter how great his faith, no matter how good his heart, Joseph still probably struggled with very human temptations to doubt.
Yet, the reality is this: God loved us enough to send us — through the faith of Mary and Joseph — his only Son. He loved us enough to take on our poverty, our indignities and fears, our hopes, joys, sufferings, and failures — and to speak to us as one of us. He became man to show men and women how much God loves them. He was born for that purpose. He lived for that purpose. He died and rose again for that purpose.
Vintage Biblical illustration features the first Christmas Eve, showing a pregnant Virgin Mary and Joseph entering a stable at Bethlehem where Mary will give birth to Jesus Christ.
When Jesus preached in his public ministry that "I am the way, the truth, and the life," he only restated the miracle that began in Bethlehem. Our redeemer is born in a stable; he is born to deliver us from sin and restore us to eternal life, which is the true meaning of the birth on that first Christmas.
It's never too late to invite the Christ Child into our hearts, homes, and lives. Surely this tired and complicated world never needed him more. May God grant us the gift of welcoming Christ into our hearts this Christmas and throughout the coming year.
I encourage you to make a good confession as we prepare for Christmas. Four priests are available for Confessions from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm on Monday night. And again, on Christmas Eve, we have two priests available from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm. Put Confession on your to-do list this week! God's mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession is the best gift you can give to yourself!
Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, so we hope many people, especially those who have not been in a while, make their way back to Mass. We will welcome them with joyful smiles, Christian kindness, and genuine hospitality! We begin Christmas with a Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve at 4:00 pm. At Midnight we celebrate Christmas Mass with great solemnity with choir and orchestra. A concert of Christmas Music begins at 11:30 pm. On Christmas Day, Masses are at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and 10:30 am.
OLM Nativity at Mercy Park.
Invite those family members, friends, and neighbors who haven't been to Mass in a while to join you on Christmas. After all, there's no better gift to give on our Savior's birthday than going to Holy Mass.
May you and your family experience a joyous celebration of the birth of our Savior on Christmas! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. We wish you a Happy and Holy Christmas! God Bless.