 |
December 25th, 2009 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Today we celebrate one of the most wonderful days of the year. Christmas has a way of bringing people together whether it be as families, friends, or as a community of faith. As Catholics, we know that Christmas is a celebration of the gift of God’s Son to humanity. We also know that this celebration, while filled with great joy, is also one that we remember with a certain solemnity and soberness. For Jesus, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was born into our world for the sole purpose of reconciling us to the Father through His suffering and death on the Cross. Yet, we rejoice on this day because we call to mind, once again, how God has continued to seek out all of mankind and bring us back to Himself. He also seeks each of us out individually in our daily lives and desires for us to come back to Him and to love Him with all our hearts. As we continue our celebration of this day, I encourage all of us to not forget to give thanks to God during the day. Give thanks to Him for the blessing of your families and your children. Give thanks for the blessing of being together and sharing love and goodness. Remember the Lord, especially, before you celebrate your evening meal. I encourage one person in each family to take the initiative to lead the prayer before this meal. Fathers, this is ordinarily your responsibility. (Of course single parent families will need to adjust accordingly.) Say some words of thanks to God and remind your family that it is God who has blessed you with all that you have and that we must never lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas, which is that our salvation began with the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. On behalf of the entire clergy and staff of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Merry Christmas and may the joy of this season be in your hearts. God’s blessings, |
 |
