News - December 2022 RSS Feed

​​​​​​​HAPPY NEW YEAR! As we begin the new year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. This feast of Mary has an interesting history that dates back as far as the fifth (5 th ) century. The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council restored the original Roman practice of beginning the new year in honor of Mary.

Merry Christmas! With great longing, we have been preparing our hearts and our homes for this day. As the Scripture tells us, “Today is born our Savior— Christ the Lord!” As we gather with family and friends, let us remember the reason we celebrate Christmas: The Word became flesh and dwells among us! His name is Jesus. He is Emmanuel a name which means ‘God-with-us!’” In the midst of darkness and sadness, the world rejoices because Jesus our Savior has been born for us!

We are now only a week away from the day when we celebrate the Lord’s coming in the Incarnation. We have a full week of the Fourth week of Advent. In Jesus—Emmanuel—God is with us, as we are reminded in today’s readings. For thousands of years, a waiting world yearned for this momentous event. Now we know that God’s actual, physical presence in the world has been realized. Amid all the hustle and bustle of these final days before Christmas, let us not overlook his greatest gift of all—the birth of Jesus: Emmanuel: God -with-us.

Today, the Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. The word “Gaudete” means rejoice. On this day we rejoice with all the earth in anticipation and preparation for Jesus’ birth and the coming of His kingdom. We, like John the Baptist, are blessed and included in the kingdom of heaven, not because of what we do but what Jesus did for us.

​​​​​​​Today, we hear the familiar reading from the eleventh chapter of the Prophet Isaiah with its enchanting imagery of the peaceable kingdom. The first half of the reading describes qualities of the ideal future king of Israel. In the second half, we are given a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven is perfect.