When I was little, my mother did a good job reminding me to say thank you for all the things that I received at Christmas, especially to my aunts and uncles. I have never forgotten that lesson. I would like to thank everyone who truly made our celebration of Christmas special at St. Catherine once again: our musicians, cantors, and singers; all of those who helped to decorate the Church for us this Christmas (who had a lot of extra work due to Christmas Eve falling on the 4th Sunday of Advent); all the volunteers who helped us out at the Masses as a lector, extraordinary minister, server or usher. Your help made our celebration another memorable Christmas!
Yet, as the Church reminds us, our celebration of Christmas is far from over. Even though all the stores have their Christmas merchandise on the sale rack, we celebrate the Holy Family this weekend. This feast reminds us how our families can be the safe haven of our faith, especially when the world around us may be acting differently. We ask the Lord to strengthen our families in every way. May all the trials and challenges that the Holy Family faced remind us that God will help our family through any situation we may face in life.
Our schedule is a little more normal this weekend (compared to the experience we had last weekend). With this Sunday also being New Year’s Eve, it has a different significance on the Church’s liturgical calendar. Even though Monday, New Year’s Day, is the Holy Day of Mary, Mother of God, it will not be a Holy Day of Obligation this year (confusing, isn’t it?). We will celebrate this feast with one Mass at 10 am. Please join us as we honor our Lady and pray that the Lord will bless us in the New Year that lies ahead.