St. Catherine of Siena

Our sacraments are not just traditions or conveniences — they are sacred moments that shape our faith from beginning to end. A Funeral Mass should honor the faith of the person who has died, not whether their family still practices, and that’s why planning ahead and making your wishes known is an act of love. In the same way, Baptism and the choice of godparents deserve real intention, because we are passing on a living faith, not just a name or a role.

Over the next few weeks I would like to ask our parishioners to consider either being a lector at the Mass or a Eucharistic Minister. Such members of the ministerial team are needed in order that the Mass be celebrate reverently and smoothly. Both a lector and Eucharistic Minister should serve terms, so that new faces and voices are always welcome. This is meant to be a sign to others of welcoming all in service to God.

Epiphany in Greek means “manifestation”. In the West, the visit of the Magi is celebrated as the event through which the Lord was “manifested” to the pagans and, therefore, to the world. In the Eastern Church, the accent for this solemnity is on the Trinitarian “manifestation” during the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. While what is central on Christmas is the birth of the Child Jesus, on Epiphany, what is highlighted is that this poor and vulnerable Child is King and Messiah, the Lord of all the earth

On this first Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord, which is called the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the gospel tells of an angel who again appears to Joseph in a dream and warns him to take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt to escape from King Herod who ordered the baby Jesus killed. Joseph does as the angel warns him, and he and his wife and child flee to Egypt under the cover of darkness, remaining there until the threat of Herod is over due to his death.