Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear Parishioners,

With this two-week bulletin, we will be entering the last week of Advent and beginning the Christmas liturgical season!  It is with great joy that I wish you all a Blessed, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I am truly grateful to all of you for an incredible year.  I offer my sincerest thanks to each of you for the many ways in which you continue to support our parish!  More impressive is the manner in which I witness your faith, trust, and growth in relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.

It has been a joy reflecting on some of our adventures over the last year.  Visiting parishioners at home, Potlucks, Power outages, Easter Vigil, Corpus Christi procession, Mission Trip to New Mexico, many infant baptisms, restoration work at St. Mary, the water boil order, men's group, and our Advent party to name a few!

With the celebration of Christ's birth, I offer this meditation on the fatherhood of St. Joseph, who gazed in silent wonder at a tiny child, the creator of all.  Silence is a medium by which St. Joseph enters into the mystery of the Incarnation.  As such, St. Joseph's heart was set ablaze with a father's love for the child entrusted to his care.  Many of our dads know the feeling of holding your child and the change it brings to your life.  The moment you hold your baby; a dad begins to understand what true meaning of love.  

Let's pray into this moment....

Take that fatherly experience of holding your child and ask St. Joseph if you can hold the infant Jesus.  Take your time...allow yourself to ask the question....for in holding the infant we receive a deep intimacy with God.  Receive the child Jesus....you look in wonder at the nearness of God who draws personally close to you.  You feel encouraged in holding this baby to cultivate a personal and loving relationship with Jesus, seeing Him not as distant or aloof but as intimately present in your life.  Embrace this little child....Embracing the infant Jesus reminds you of the simplicity and humility of Christ’s Incarnation. Remain in the silence of this moment....As time passes, you find that approaching God, this fragile child, becomes so much simpler.  Now with the simplicity and trust of a child, it becomes easier to set aside your pride and preconceived notions about who God is and if He even cares about me.  When you are ready, speak to the child Jesus about what weighs on your heart.  Remain in this place as long as you desire.

Thank you for letting me share this meditation with you.  As we welcome the Christ Child this Christmas, may God provide you with every blessing!

Upcoming Events

Christmas Masses:  Christmas Eve - 5:00pm and Midnight at St. Joseph; Christmas Day at 9:00am at St. Mary.  

Holy Day Mass: Mary, Mother of God -  5:30pm vigil and 7:00am at St. Joseph with an 5:30pm evening Mass at St. Mary.

Epiphany Potluck for both parishes at the St. Joseph Parish Hall on Sunday, January 4^th at 5:30pm!  All are welcome!

A Very Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Fr. Luke Fleck