Greetings in Christ & Merry Christmas!
This Advent we reflected and prayed for the grace to prepare for the coming of the Lord into our lives and hearts through the Mother of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Christmas we celebrate God visiting His People, becoming one like us, a baby born into a human family, the Holy Family, so that He can save us according to His Will. This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) and the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. As Scott Hahn reflects in his column for this Sunday on the second column of this page, God the Father has done all of this so that we all may belong to His Family. He is our God and we are His sons and daughters. Thanks be to God! We belong to Him through Holy Mother Mary and through Holy Mother Church! May we all find true meaning for our lives and familiesin the ultimate Family of God’s Love & Life in Jesus’ Father’s House, the Church.
My first Christmas here, I am trying to respect each parish’s traditions to the extent possible but also to improve upon them. A church document says clearly that we are not to ever “obstruct” the Altar. It says this because, as I taught the Altar Servers, it is an Altar, not a table to set something on. It is actually a symbol of Jesus Christ Himself. He is the Altar of Sacrifice! We had room to easily make the necessary modifications in Sacred Heart Church. Hopefully, our first try at this works. We are much more limited for space in St. Pius X Church. It will take much more planning and work next year to try to remain faithful to the Church on this matter. I do not tell people “no” unless I have to. Obedience to the Church is important to me. I hope it is for you too. Thank you for your understanding.
