Pastor’s Letter: December 31, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: December 31, 2023

29 Dec 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope everyone had the chance to celebrate with family and loved ones. Every year the celebration of Christmas includes so many cultural and family traditions. This time of year always invites us to reflect upon the love of God and the meaning of family. Christmas is a time to emphasize our sentiments of love and thanksgiving for family and acquaintances. The “spirit of Christmas” invites us to apologize and ask forgiveness in those relationships that need healing. Christmas often elicits thoughts of shopping, gift giving, music, or Santa Claus. However, Christmas is the celebration of the Christ – Mass. Christmas is the day when we remember, with the celebration of the Mass, that God came as the Christ or the Messiah to be our savior. While the celebration of Christmas carries many themes in our culture, the primary celebration is that God is with us…Emmanuel.

This weekend the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Church often calls the family the “domestic church” for it is in the family that one is educated. In our families we learn to give and receive love. We all know examples of family experiences that are not ordered toward the good of husband, wife, and children. However, I think we are always invited to reflect upon the ideal. The family unit of Mary, Joseph and Jesus invites us to grasp the potential of the family. So often we can dwell on what is not perfect, what has failed, how we have disappointed or hurt family instead of seeing the opportunity for growth. The Feast of the Holy Family is an invitation to see the possibilities for today. We celebrate Jesus, Mary and Joseph as living a perfect relationship ordered toward the good of the other. Failed relationships and family life is always the result of failing to love rightly. The model of Jesus, Mary and Joseph inspires us to reconcile today what was imperfect yesterday. As we begin a new year, we all have interior conversations we’ve held with the self or with God that need to be expressed to family, friends or neighbor. People often joke about “bucket list” items that they would like to accomplish before death. The Christian life invites us to see that the only true “bucket list” items are the things we need to communicate in our relationships and the effort to love others rightly. As we pray this weekend, let us ask the Lord to inspire all our families to seek the love of God to reconcile with each other and always be directed at the good of the other.

The Solemnity of Mary on January 1 allows us to maintain our focus on Mary’s “yes” and her participation in the Divine Plan. Mary was free in her “yes” to the Incarnation. Our veneration for Mary revolves around her faithfulness. When we often fail in our spiritual efforts, Mary remains ever faithful. We pray through her intercession as she presents our prayers before the Lord and we resolve to model her love, holiness, and humility. As we begin 2024, after celebrating the Church New Year in Advent, may the new calendar year bring many blessings to our parish and families as we resolve to live our Catholic faith with greater joy and thanksgiving.

Thank you for all the Christmas blessings during the last several weeks. Fr. Daniel and I are overwhelmed by the cards, notes, and generosity. Thank you for the gracious support of our priestly ministry. Have a Blessed year.

God bless,

Father David