FROM THE PASTOR’ DESK

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Welcome to our parish website!
It is December, ‘the month of months,‘ the most wonderful time of the year, ; as we sing. We see heavy traffic. Everybody is busy. People are nervous. There are holiday cards to send, gifts to purchase, special foods to prepare, and decorations to be done. It is very easy to get caught up in this fever and to forget what is essential to celebrate Christmas.

It seems to me that John the Baptist breaks in on purpose on this second weekend of Advent to remind us of what is truly worth it. The Church calls John the Precursor because he was the one to open the door to Jesus and to introduce him to his mission of salvation. John’s life was fueled by one burning passion: to point others not to himself but to Jesus and to the coming of his kingdom. John does not invite us to be clothed like him and to follow his diet. But he does invite us to live the right way to welcome the era of the ‘New Coming of Jesus’. John the Baptist invites us to go to what is essential in our lives that we may not miss the boat, the encounter with our Lord. For, the essential is not what we eat, what we wear, or what we possess. Christmas is not only about shopping or carols or decorations. Christmas is first about our readiness to welcome the One who is coming. It is about our love for God and our neighbor and the way to live it more concretely today. Christmas is about nourishing our spiritual and inner life. For, not only does the Lord come to be close to us, but he wants to be our ‘Emmanuel’ 'God with us’ and in us that we may not be alone on the way. As we prepare to make everything new and beautiful to celebrate Christmas, may we also prepare a place in our hearts for Jesus so that we may joyfully welcome and proclaim the ‘reason for the season’!

Have a good week and a good Advent season!

Fr. Breneville