Christmas 2022

 
Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

I am blessed to receive many beautiful Christmas cards every year, and this year is no exception.  One in particular stands out.  It reads:

The GREATEST GIFT to the world was given this day.

Receive Him through FAITH,
rejoice in HOPE,
experience the PEACE of His LOVE
this Christmas season
and always.

What a gift our Saviour Jesus Christ is.  This gift can be found in no store.  This gift is priceless.  It is the most precious of all gifts in the world.  This gift is one for all humankind. 
 
God made flesh.  Emmanuel.  The name given to Christ.  This is the gift that we celebrate every Christmas.  Yet, for us, Christmas is more than just one day.  Christmas for so many is just that, and it is not the CHRISTmas we hold dear to our hearts.  Our faith, and the gift of our faith, allows us to receive and encounter the gift of Christ in the sacraments and in the most beautiful of all ways, the gift of the Eucharist, everyday of the year.  Keep Christmas with you, all through the year from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is the gift I am thinking of, and humming as I write this.

It is with love in my heart that I welcome you and yours to our Christmas celebrations this year at our parish of St. Julia.  I pray that the peace of the season dwells in your heart, for it is the gift of peace that I pray you receive and take with you, and bring into your homes, schools, places of work, and into our community and world, when we gather and worship together.  Another gift, all through the year.

May God bless each of you and those that you love this Christmas season and always,

Fr. Greg

P.S.  Christmas is more than just one day.  Liturgically speaking, it is a season, it is an octave .  Remember that, and safety always first.  Should weather be an issue this weekend, join me during any of the days in the octave of Christmas.  I will be there to welcome you as we celebrate the birth of Christ together.