A remarkable year, a new beginning

Merry Christmas, dear ones!  What a remarkable year for our community. What a blessing to finally be able to celebrate this joyous day in a place we now call home. In many ways, it feels as if we’re beginning.

Bishop Zarama decreed that effective Jan. 1, 2023, we will now be a parish rather than a mission, and he appointed me as your pastor, and no longer administrator for a six-year term. So in some respects, we’re just beginning but with a notable past that clearly reveals the hand of God at work in our lives.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, let joy be born in our hearts not just this Christmas day but the whole year. And not just the whole year, but our whole lives. Let us inspire this world that can seem so lost in darkness with the light of Christ in the light of our joy. 

Let us welcome family and friends. Let us welcome strangers and travelers in our midst who may join with us to celebrate the Eucharist. Make room in the seats, greet them with a welcoming smile and gracious hospitality to those like Mary and Joseph who are seeking room in the inn.

If you’re returning to church today after a long absence, or even a short one, let the joy of this celebration fill you. Let the light of Christ into your lives and into your hearts that your hearts may grow “three sizes” this day and return to the joy of celebrating the Eucharist today and every week of the year.

My thanks to all of you who have been faithful parishioners, for all you do even through the tough times. Thank you for all your support and prayers. May God bless you this Christmas, may all darkness in your lives be removed by the light of Christ. May we be a people of faith and joy that rejoices in the light and hope that Christmas brings. 

This light truly does shine in a world full of darkness, and this light must penetrate our hearts. We are called to be the light of Jesus to the world, so that one person at a time, one soul at a time, we can start bringing that light to a world that so desperately needs it. 

May your hearts be filled with the joy of Christ’s birth and may you be missionaries of that joy through the intercession of our patroness, Mother Teresa.