Pastor's Weekly Message
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
28-29 Dec 2025
My Beloved Fellow Saints-in-the-Making,
Greetings in Jesus Christ the Newborn King!
A gloriously joyful Christmastide to you! For Catholics, Christmas lasts longer than a day. Indeed, Christmas Day lasts a full eight days. So we presently find ourselves in the middle of the Octave of Christmas. Every Mass—even daily Mass—features the Gloria, the first Christmas hymn, which was sung by the Angel Host of Heaven to the shepherds in the fields as they watched their sheep. Every day from December 25 through January 1 is collectively one long day as it anticipates the unending Day of Eternity.
The Christmas Octave begins with the Nativity of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and concludes with the Solemnity of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called Mary, the Mother of God.
Please note: Because the Solemnity celebrates a Marian dogma of the Catholic Church, January 1 is a holy day of obligation. Mass will be celebrated at 4 and 7pm on Wednesday December 31 and 9am on Thursday January 1.
Let us begin the New Year by fulfilling our joyful duty in obligation to the Lord.
While the Octave lasts eight days, Christmas continues for another ten days, concluding on January 11 with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Truly, Christmas is more than a day; it is a Season and one to be celebrated with exultant joy and thanksgiving.
One way to celebrate the Mystery of the Word made flesh is to spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, contemplating, in the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the He became flesh and blood and was born so that we might receive His Flesh and Blood in the Eucharist and be born anew in Him. This is why St. Carlo Acutis recommended regular Eucharistic Adoration as a way of becoming a saint. For St. Carlo, “The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven,” and in the simplicity of a saint, “If we go out in the sun, we get a suntan…but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.” “By standing before the Eucharistic Christ, we become holy.” Indeed, my beloved Friends in Christ, this is what God has made us for and nothing less: holiness, saintliness, God-likeness. God makes this happen in us, to be sure; nevertheless, we need to use our free will to cooperate with the Will of God.
Let me encourage you today, especially today, to spend some time in the Adoration Chapel adoring our Eucharistic Lord to grow in virtue and holiness, yes. But as importantly, to conclude the Jubilee Year as we began it: in the Presence of our Eucharistic Lord.
Today, December 28 marks the end of the Jubilee Year and therefore concludes our Adoration Chapel being a Jubilee Site of Pious Visits. Today, too, then, is the LAST day to receive a plenary indulgence for a soul in Purgatory or for yourself by visiting the Adoration Chapel.
Because today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, spend time together as a family in the Adoration Chapel: 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or more. And then pray for a deceased loved one as per the guidelines on the tables in the back of the chapel. You might just be helping a soul from Purgatory enter into eternal life in Heaven. And that soul will remember you and be among the first, please God, to welcome you Home to Heaven.
While you are in the Chapel, contemplate on the gifts and blessings of this year 2025. Not only was it the Jubilee Year, but it also highlighted many anniversaries important for the Catholic Church:
Spring: The 800th Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s composing The Canticle of the Creatures
May 17: The 100th Anniversary of the canonization of one of my closest friends in Heaven: St. Therese of Lisieux
May 20: The 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed
August 15: The 75th Anniversary of the proclamation of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of the Catholic Church
December 10: The 100th Anniversary of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Sr. Lucia of Fatima in Pontevedra, Spain where she was a religious sister
December 10: The 100th Anniversary of Our Lady’s request for the First Five Saturdays Devotion / Communion of Reparation
A Jubilee Year filled with significant anniversaries and you, an integral and irreplaceable part of it all, you and your holy family. Please know how deeply grateful to Our Lord and God I am for your being a significant part of my beloved parish family.
God love you! I do.
Fr. Lewis
Fr. Cornelius and I extend our most heartfelt wishes for a holy, healthy, happy New Year. See you at church on December 31 / January 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.