From the Pastor:
First, those familiar with the Church’s special days of religious observance know that December 8 is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, since this date occurs on Sunday this year, its observance is moved to Monday as a Holy Day of Obligation. For us in the United States, this day is extra special since it is the patronal feast day of our country. Please see this bulletin for the extra Masses and the schedule change for the day.
Non-Catholics often struggle with the Catholic Church’s teaching that Mary was conceived without original sin. They think we invited this teaching because of our pious devotion to her who is the mother of Jesus. She is like us in all things but sin. Like Adam and Eve, she came into this world without original sin. In this way, Jesus and Mary are a reset of creation, the new Adam and Eve. That shouldn’t be surprising to us since Jesus plainly stated He came into the world to overcome sin. Jesus conquers all sin and gives each of us the needed grace to overcome our sins.
Mary received this grace of Christ the moment she was conceived by her parents. We received it in the sacrament of Baptism. The grace of God continued to come to her throughout her life, and amazingly, she never acted contrary to it and therefore never sinned. She directed her freedom (self-governance) always toward love of God and love of neighbor, even during the most difficult times of her life. This is why she is a perfect example for us of how to be disciples of Christ.
Second, most of you by now either have received or will soon be receiving a Christmas card from us priests and our seminarian Evan. Along with a Christmas greeting from us and a message of hope, it lists the Christmas Mass times and locations. It also refers to the bulletin for extra times for the sacrament of Reconciliation. Those times are listed below, and for each of them, all three of us priests will be present for a minimum of two hours and will gladly stay as long as needed.
Sunday 8 @ Resurrection: 4-6pm or longer if needed
Sunday 15 @ St. Mary: 4-6pm or longer if needed
Sunday 22 @ St. Peter: 4-6pm or longer if needed
Monday 23 @ St. Peter: 6-8pm or longer if needed
Lastly, some of you have been inquiring about the status of the Living Christ Capital campaign project(s). I’m happy to share with you that progress is being made with the design phase. With each of our three parishes all having projects occurring simultaneously, you can imagine how challenging that is to manage. It’s the perfect storm of business! I’ll have more information to share with you in January as design work continues through this busy holiday (holyday) season. The goal is to have proposals for you to comment on early next year. More information will be forthcoming! Thanks for interest in this and all the ways you support the parish!
With Advent blessings to you,
Fr. Miller