Merry Christmas!!! Or should I say Merry Christ Mass!!!
What a gift to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Now we can sing the Gloria because God is so, so good to us. Now we can rejoice with the angels in Heaven. It is indeed Christmas. We celebrate His birth in Bethlehem. I hope you all have beautiful celebrations with your family and remember His love for each and every one of you. Enjoy.
It is always interesting to me that there are four liturgical celebrations that come between Christmas and Mary, Mother of God (New Years). The first is the celebration of St. Stephen. Read Act 6:1—8:1 to get the story. Stephen gave his life for the Church, and his celebration comes the day after Christmas. The 27th brings the celebration of St John the Apostle, the only Apostle not to be a Martyr. He wrote the Gospel of John, the three letters of St John and the book of Revelation. Okay, I should say that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these books. Then on the 28th, we celebrate the Holy Innocents, these are the boys that were slaughtered in Bethlehem when Herod was trying to kill Jesus after His birth. They killed all the boys two years and under in the town, and we honor them with this celebration. The final celebration that comes between Christmas and Mary, The Holy Mother of God, is the Holy Family. That is Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This is a family to look up to. They are Holy, and they show us an example of what it means to follow God’s will. What a beautiful family they are. Thanks be to God. These celebrations help us to celebrate Christmas because we realize the sacrifices that were made.
After Mass on Christmas day, I will be leaving for my family celebration in the cities. I will return on Friday, December 30th, late in the evening. If there are any emergencies while I am away, please call the office and leave a message. Someone will be checking messages on a frequent basis. Know of my prayers and please pray for me!
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault