Sunday, December 26, 2021
Saturday, December 25, 2021
“And the Word was Made Flesh . . .”
Dear Parishioners:
Merry Christmas!
What is it that you like best
about Christmas? Is it the beautiful decorations and the
lights on the trees? Is it the special meals
with families and friends? Is it the
Christmas carols or sending and receiving Christmas cards? Is it the parties with friends, co-workers or
business associates? Is it the exchange
of gifts and the kindness and generosity of so many people? Is it the look on children’s faces on the
morning of Christmas as they are unwrapping their presents?
While so many various things
may become associated with our Christmas experience, we must consider what
Christmas truly represents from a
Christian perspective. Christmas is
about the mystery of the Incarnation. God chose to
become a man for us. “The
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn. 1:14) Timelessness
entered time. The almighty and all-powerful God became a
helpless, vulnerable infant. The creator of all life became subject
to suffering and death. The infinite majesty of God became
finite. God walked this very earth. He could be seen,
felt and touched.
While the many activities that
we place upon ourselves as part of our Christmas traditions—shopping, decorating, cooking, sending
cards, visiting homes, exchanging
gifts, etc.—may overshadow or obscure its true meaning, Christmas is meant
to remind us of God’s merciful love for us. Christmas celebrates when Heaven
touched Earth. The Love of God took
human form. Christmas is when a baby—the Son of God and Son of Mary—is
born for us in Bethlehem. Christmas
is primarily and definitively about Christ—Jesus, the Christ.
If Christmas is
lived out as a once a year go-to-church experience,
if it is just a time for the family to get together and share an extravagant
meal, if it is merely a nostalgic, sentimental, feel-good holiday in
which multiple gifts are exchanged, then we might just have missed the greatest
act of love ever offered to us. When you
peer into the manger this Christmas, realize that before your eyes is a glimpse
of the love that God has for you and me by sending us His only-begotten Son.
God became one of us
telling us how much the human person and human life is sacred and valued. God became a man ultimately to suffer, die
and redeem us. Jesus is love-incarnate. His words and actions reveal the hidden mystery
of God to us. He is why Christians
celebrate Christmas.
On behalf of the entire staff who serve our parish, we wish you and your
families a happy, holy Christmas and a blessed New Year!
May the love of God which took
human form in the person of Jesus be honored and revered in every human person that we meet.
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
Sunday, December 19, 2021
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Sunday, December 5, 2021
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