The Twelve Days of Christmas: A song, yes, but the Catholic meaning is so much more. The 12 days are the days between the two major Christmas feasts: the Nativity of the Lord on December 25th and Epiphany on January 6th.
Merry Christmas to those of you who were away for the big day. I hope you each had good ways of celebrating Christmas, and had loved ones to celebrate with.
Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas! I was thinking some of you early-arrivers might need a little something to keep you occupied while waiting for Mass to start. Try your hand at the following brain-teasers, all Christmas-themed (the answers are located somewhere in this bulletin!):
Merry Christmas one and all! On these darkest days of winter — at least in this hemisphere — we are given the ultimate sign of hope: our Mighty Savior has come! The one who created the universe and is the source of all life has humbled himself and come among us as a vulnerable baby.
It’s Advent Week 3, and, with Christmas Eve on a Monday, we hardly have any Week 4, so here we go! We will have our standard Christmas Mass schedule of 3:00, 5:00, and 9:00pm on the 24th and 9:00am on the 25th — and expect our usual blow-out crowds.
Hello, everyone! I’d like to share a testimonial from Lynn Heider on her experience attending a women’s Christ Renews His Parish weekend and her invitation to participate in the next one, on January 19-20, 2019.
The Proclamation of John the Baptist: The second Sunday always features St. John, this year from the gospel of Luke. Historically anchored to a real time and place by the people the Gospel names, St. John, and therefore Jesus, are real, and not part of a fairytale. It’s real, historical (corrupt) leaders in charge as St. John, “a voice crying out in the Wilderness”, proclaims Jesus’ arrival.
A friend and former parishioner sent me a collection of “ageing” jokes this week. Hmm. Now, why would he send THOSE to ME?!? (Quiet, Fr. Hans!) Anyway, they WERE kind of humorous, so I thought you might enjoy them too!
Oh boy! Two more weeks (and a day or two) until Christmas! Fr. Hans talked about anticipation in his homily last weekend and it is obvious the anticipation is growing. I especially enjoy the Christmas decorations and the lights.
The Twofold Meaning of Advent: We think we know the stories of Advent, but do we? Sunday Advent readings prepare us in two ways, in this order: the 2nd coming of Jesus at the end of time, and the 1st coming in the Incarnation on Christmas.
Hello, everyone. Happy Advent! “Maranatha!” is the code word during Advent, much like “Alleluia!” during Easter. Maranatha is Greek for “Come Lord Jesus!” Kind of an interesting way to prepare for Christmas, isn’t it — praying for the Lord’s return and the end history? Yet that’s how we spend these first couple of weeks of Advent.
Advent 2018 is here. We are so blessed to have this season that deliberately helps us focus on the deeper meaning of the weeks leading up to Christmas.