Dear Parishioners,
As we reach this Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, we look at the calendar and realize that there are only 10 more actual days until we reach Christmas Day. As the Latin name for this Sunday reminds us, rejoice, for the Lord is near!
I end up saying the same thing every year, but the season of Advent always goes so quickly. Of course, this year, there is a reason for that: Thanksgiving Day was as late as it possibly could be on the calendar. That always means that we have a short Advent season. That makes it even more important that we make the most out of the time that is left to prepare ourselves for the celebration of our Lord’s birth.
Counting the penance service that is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon at St. Martin in Vicksburg, the majority of our area penance services are on the calendar for this week. Please take advantage of these opportunities for confession as well as our normal time for confession next Saturday from 11 AM - noon. Check the schedule in the bulletin today for additional information on the penance services as well as the Mass schedule here at St. Catherine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
I was hoping, as many of you were hoping for us priests, that we would be able to move back into the rectory by this time. I have certainly wanted to avoid some of the driving back and forth we have to do every day and be more available for evening events at the parish. We are making progress every day and see the completion day move closer, but it’s not time yet. Fr. Joseph and I will sure be celebrating a lot when we get to move back in. (On a side note, I don’t even want to count up how many times I have had to move since I was a seminarian and then a priest!). This will indeed be a first for me to start all over again with a “new” rectory! We are truly blessed that the insurance is covering so much of this work and things that need to be replaced.
May we all take the time and the effort to continue to prepare ourselves for Christmas. Thanks for reading!
Fr. Mark