Weekly Letter from the Pastor

As much as we anticipate the coming of Christmas, in an instant it seems like it has passed. One of the beauties of our Catholic faith is that as a season, Christmas, what one calls Christmastide, continues for a few more weeks. As we have previously mentioned, the calendar of the old Latin Mass continued Christmas for forty days, as we do Easter, meaning it ends on February 2. 

In the darkness of winter, the celebration of the Light of the World in our midst, infuses us with light and warmth.  I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas time with family and friends. Father Adam, the deacons, parish staff, and the school community, are all grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity during this past Christmas season. The donations to the giving tree, the SVDP, the parish, and the personal gifts, are all deeply appreciated beyond measure.

Please be assured of our prayers for each one of you and your families.  Speaking of families, this is the weekend when we focus on the Holy Family. We are reminded that as he became Incarnate, the Son of God did not arrive as a fully-formed and functioning adult, but as an infant, who as St. Luke notes, “grew in wisdom, age, and grace.” Each one of us comes from a family, and most of us form families of our own. While thinking of family can be an emotional roller coaster for some of us, we do nonetheless need to find ways to live and express that gratitude for our families. For good or for ill, each one of us is a product of our families, nuclear, extended, blended, or whatever form that family took. 

This Sunday we pray for our families, and as a parish for each of the families that make-up our parish. I am spending this weekend with my Mother in Pennsylvania, as we celebrate the holiday season together. The time there also affords the opportunity to see other members of my family as well. 

Thursday, New Years Day, is a Holy Day of Obligation — Mass will be celebrated at 5 pm on Wednesday and 9 am on Thursday. We pray that everyone has a safe and enjoyable New Years holiday.  May this coming year — 2026 — bring blessings to each one of us, our families, our work, ministry, and peace throughout our nation and our world. 

Blessings, and peace,
Father Garry