Dear Friends
Today we enter the 4th Sunday of Advent. This Sunday we are invited to get into the shoes of Mary and Joseph as they grapple with the divine child in the womb. You could imagine the struggle Mary might have had and the dilemma of Joseph wanting to quietly divorce Mary. What a painful situation that might have been. But in all of this one thing stood out clearly. The message of the angel to Joseph was absolutely indicative of how God operates in our lives and most especially when we are in trouble. The angel’s words to Joseph were: Do not be afraid. This is what God does to us. He keeps on inviting us to trust in him. That is possibly why he chose to be born as a helpless babe so we could effortlessly and fearlessly place our trust in him.
And then, soon and very soon we will be celebrating one of the ground breaking realities of God becoming man. In the celebration of Christmas, we commemorate “the most astounding marvel of the Word of God taking flesh and becoming human. This is at the very heart of our Christian faith.” Our natural response to this astonishing event is to break in to song as we will sing in the Responsorial Psalm: “Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.” St. Paul tells us in his letter to Titus: The grace of God has appeared, saving all…” (2:11).
My heart brims with joy knowing that you and I are blessed to know our God in person not only at this time of celebration but every day of our lives. He keeps coming to us in the WORD, in the Sacraments, in the People we meet every day, and in every Circumstances of our lives. Let us rejoice “for a child is born to us, a son is given us” (Isaiah 9: 5).
On behalf of Fr. John Patrick, the Deacons, and the Staff let me wish you all a Very
Merry Christmas 2019!
May the Divine Child fill you and yours with Peace, Love and Joy.
With Love,
Fr. John