Dear Parish Families,

    Merry Christmas! Though many in our culture may have moved on from Christmas already. Though, in many cases the Christmas music may be off the airwaves. Though some may have already begun the process of taking down the tree and other Christmas decorations, for us Christ-mas has just begun! And so maybe we might con-sider leaving those decorations up for just a bit more, continuing to listen to those wonderful Christmas songs, and wishing everyone a, “Merry Christmas!”

    I wanted to take a moment to thank all those who helped to make our Christmas celebrations the great celebrations that they were. From our Musicians, to our Lectors, our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, our Servers, our Sacristans, all who helped to prepare and decorate our church, and to each and every one of you. Whether you celebrated near or far, thank you for all you do and are!

     This weekend, we continue our Christmas celebration with the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Holy Family is a model for our families. Being a holy Family does not mean being a perfect family. Our families may not be perfect families, we may have our ups and downs, our joys and struggles, our moments of agreement and our moments of disagreement, but even though we may not be members of perfect families, that doesn’t mean that we can’t be members of holy families. And maybe a step we can take towards making our families more holy comes to us from the portion of St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians that we hear this weekend. What if we tried to bring more into our families the qualities he lays out for us? Qualities such as heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, thankfulness, and love. What if each of us strove to bring even just one or two of those qualities more into our family life? In the way we speak or in the way we act? What if we strove to be a bit more thankful, a bit more compas-sionate, a bit more gentle, a bit more humble? What if we strove towards greater love and patience? May each of us take whatever step we might feel called to do to bring greater holiness into our family lives!

      Loving God, the Church gives us the life of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as an example of holy living. Help us express the truth of Mary’s anxiety, Jesus’ confidence, and Joseph’s faithfulness to you in ways that deepen our faith and free us to grow in your love.

    — Fr. John