Dear Parishioners,
The celebration of Christmas continues! We are in the 12 days of Christmas! This traditional representation is the time from Christmas day until the celebration of the Epiphany. Of course, when we celebrate the Epiphany in the United States, this year we only end up with the 10 days of Christmas (the actual celebration of Epiphany is on January 6). Yet the Christmas season continues until the Baptism of the Lord on January 11th. It becomes a little confusing sometimes, doesn’t it? Regardless of these “hiccups” in the calendar, the joy of the celebration of Christmas shouldn’t be contained to just one day.
In this Christmas season, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family this weekend. We see how Christmas is a time for family. Looking at what happened to the Holy Family, we are reminded that family life isn’t always perfect. Herod is looking for the baby Jesus for all the wrong reasons. He is threatened by the newborn King. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus need to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath. Perhaps this is a reminder to all of us that family life isn’t always as perfect as we think. We might have a vision of what family life should be, but then life happens. This is why we need to look to the example of the Holy Family and place our trust in God. The Lord will help us navigate the difficult situations we may encounter in family life. As the Lord blessed the Holy Family and guided them to safety, so may the Lord bless and help us in our family life as well.
The calendar year 2025 is now almost behind us. Just a few more days left until we celebrate 2026! We are already starting to think and wonder what the new year is going to bring for us. As one year ends and another begins, let us first be thankful for the blessings we have received in this year and ask the Lord to help us with what lies ahead in a brand new year!
January 1st is also the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Not only is this a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is an opportunity to begin the year with prayer. We will celebrate a 4 PM Mass on New Year’s Eve and a 10 AM Mass on New Year’s Day. I hope that you can join us to start off the New Year. May the Lord bless all of you in whatever the New Year will bring!
Thanks for reading!
Fr. Mark