In our second reading today, St. Paul writes to the people of Corinth, “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” (1 Cor. 12:7). The Spirit is given, not to some, not to a few, not to a majority, but to each and every individual for the benefit, not just of the individual themselves, but for the benefit of all. The manifestation of the Spirit is not the same in each individual and our call, our challenge, is to put that manifestation to use.

“You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Those words, which make up the last line of our gospel this weekend as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and enter into Ordinary Time, are words that are spoken, not just to Jesus, but to each and every one of us. Maybe there wasn’t a booming voice from the heavens on the day that we were baptized, but in that moment, God spoke those same words into our hearts, “You are my beloved son/daughter, with you I am well pleased.”

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Yesterday, though due to its falling on a Saturday it was not a Holy Day of Obligation this year, we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. How is Mary the Mother of God, we might ask? After all, if God has existed since the very beginning and will always exist, how can we say that Mary is His mother?

Merry Christmas everyone! As we continue our celebration of the Christmas season and celebrate today the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I’d like to share with you this prayer for Families composed by St. Mother Teresa…

“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from the store, maybe Christmas means just a little bit more.” Those are the words from the story of the Grinch and they’re also words that kept jumping into my mind as in the months and weeks leading up to Christmas. We heard all kinds of warnings about getting everything that we needed for Christmas early because of all the supply chain issues. If we wait until the last minute...