As your pastor, I want to take a few lines to note my thanks for all of you who make up this One Body of Christ—Saint Catherine of Siena Parish. I want to begin by letting you know how blessed I feel to be a part of your Catholic community and for this short time I have been here with you all—and learning from you about what it means to be active, caring, and effec-tive Catholic Christians in a very hectic world.
This year, many Americans and indeed other peoples of the world watched with interest the marriage of William, heir to the British throne, and Kate Middleton, a commoner who will become queen, in much pageantry and ceremony. It reminds us that some people are born into "greatness" and some have it forced upon them.
Did you ever do the right thing when it was difficult? St. Joseph did. He followed what God wanted him to do and trusted in God’s plan. He was a person of great faith and courage. That is why God chose him to care for Jesus.
Today the Church rejoices in the Advent Season on this particular Sunday—Gaudete Sun-day—when our faith is called to be reenergized with a specific joy as we see the coming of the birth of Christ in just two short weeks.
As we come to the close of the year in the secular world, the media will produce a “retrospective” of 2011 we will hear of those famous personalities who died this year, the best and worst of movies, dress, and the all important bloopers. We will be forced to remember just what comprised the year 2011 like it or not as the year fades into a collage of the past 12 months.