Pastor’s Letter: December 24, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: December 24, 2023

22 Dec 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

The 4^th week of Advent is literally a few hours this year. The 4^th Sunday of Advent always leads to the Christmas feast. With Christmas on Monday this year, we have only a few hours of the 4^th week. It seems like Christmas comes quicker each year but this certainly makes it feel that way. I do pray that the Advent Season has been a time of peace and preparation for the coming of the Lord. The Advent Season is meant to be a time of peace as we reflect upon the depth of God’s love for humanity. The miracle of the Incarnation, or the birth of Christ, shows God’s desire to communicate directly with us and to be ever-present. We often find the health of any relationship is dependent on the strength of communication, Christmas is a reminder that God’s communication to us flows through the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. The celebration of the Mass is the continual reminder that God communicates with us in the Eucharistic sacrifice and the reading of Scripture.

Every year the celebration of Christmas includes so many cultural and family traditions. This time of year invites us to reflect upon the love of God and the meaning of family. As we enter this Christmas Season, it is good to reflect on whom we need to offer our time. We may need to emphasize our sentiments of love and thanksgiving for family. We may even need to apologize and ask forgiveness of those in our lives. With the mention of Christmas, many think 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 here, Emmanuel. Through Jesus, we see “the image of the invisible God.” The mystery of Christmas is a reminder that we are not alone. No matter our state in life, social status, physical well-being, male or female, Jew or Gentile, the Bible reminds us we are all “one in Christ Jesus.” Christmas, as a week-long celebration in the Church, calls us to celebrate everything that this feast means to this life and the next. Our prayer for one another is that our celebrating leads us to reflect more deeply on the humility of God to be born like us. Let us commit ourselves to deepen our prayer and live in that prayer at the celebration of the Mass. May the Lord guide us, no matter our current joy or sorrow, to seek first the Kingdom of God and all things will lead to His Divine presence. Merry Christmas!

God bless,

Father David