Merry Christmas! We are now in the fifth day of the Octave of Christmas.

The Holy Theotokos, a Greek that can be translated as “God-Bearer,” is a succinct yet profound title that The Church has used for Mary since at least the 3rd century. As Jesus was born into the world both completely human and completely divine, Mary’s bringing forth of Him into the world through her womb makes her not merely the mother of Jesus but the mother of God. Today, we celebrate the “Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” On Wednesday, we will celebrate, as a Holy Day of Obligation, the “Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God.” Together with these two special days, The Church points to the special significance of God’s incarnation through Mary and His role in the human family.

Dear Friends,

Even though we have just celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus, I would still like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. Indeed, as we come to the end of this year, my heart is filled with gratitude for the abundant blessings we have received as a parish, as a family, and as individuals. However, at individual levels, this Christmas celebration may never have been the same for some of you because of the loss of a dear one or due to other circumstances.

Dear Friends,

As we enter the final part of our Advent season, the Church invites us to intensify our preparation for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in a few days’ time. Since the beginning of the season, we have had great opportunities here at our parish to prepare by participating in our “Lessons and Carols” led by our own choir and clergy; then we had the “Honor Your Mother” Novena Rosary which our diocese asked our parish and school to lead, followed by a very inspiring and engaging “Advent Mission” led by the renowned and nationally acclaimed Jesse Romero.

“Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete!”

This incipit (the opening line) of the introit, the short piece of musical prayer the Church gives for the beginning of the Mass, translates to English as “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.” That is where we get the name for this Sunday of the Liturgical Year: Gaudete Sunday. This day is one of only two days in the entire Liturgical Year that the vestments for the Mass may be of rose color; the other day is Laetare Sunday in Lent.

Dear Friends,

During this third week of Advent, we celebrate Gaudate on Sunday. Gaudate is Latin for “rejoice,” the first words of the opening antiphon for mass. This Sunday is unique as the third candle lit in the Advent wreath is colored rose rather than violet. Along with the candle, the priests and deacons who celebrate wear rose vestments. In this season of purple, the rose of Gaudete Sunday sticks out as a symbol of joy and rallies us to persevere in our Advent practices as the celebration of our Lord’s birth draws near. The Lord is near, so rejoice!

Dear Friends,

Yes, dear friends, we are already in the second Sunday of Advent. Each year, this season offers us an opportunity to re-examine ourselves and turn away from sin in order to prepare to receive the birth of our Savior in a befitting manner. However, before I go into a bit of detail as to what we are called to do during this season, I would like to briefly share the meaning of Advent.

The nativity scene or crèche arose out of ancient piety and the medieval theater. Christians were honoring the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born even before St. Helen built the Basilica of the Nativity over it around A.D. 330. Medieval mystery plays later reenacted the Nativity, but when they got out of hand, Pope Honorius suppressed them.

Happy New Year! Today, the First Sunday of Advent marks the start of the Church’s new Liturgical Year.

Advent is a curious season. It is the beginning of the liturgical year, and yet its first Gospel is about the end of the world. It marks a fresh start, and yet it opens by virtually repeating one of the readings from the Sunday before. It is draped in the penitential color of violet yet is irrepressibly joyful. It awaits the coming of the Messiah, who already came two thousand years ago. During Mass, the Gloria is suppressed, but outside Mass, there are delicious treats, Yuletide drinks, and joyous caroling.

Dear Friends, I was reminded of a strange dream I had some time back. In that rather strange dream, I was on a journey that took me through a lonely, deserted, and fearful terrain to a destination not quite clear to me. At around midday, totally hot and exhausted, I suddenly came upon what looked like a corpse. In a state of terror, my first reaction was to flee for my life, fearing that the body lying on the pathway was a victim of some wild animal or robbers. Afraid that I could easily become the next victim, the urge to flee grew even stronger.

Advent, from the Latin “ad-venire” meaning “to come to,” is a time of preparation and anticipation for the remembrance of our Lord’s birth and His eventual Second Coming. Additionally, the Church calls us to conversion and a repentance of the heart during Advent to prepare our souls to receive our newborn King and the heavenly Kingdom to come. In essence, this season allows us to look back on the hope for the Savior of the World, experience anew the joy of his arrival and also his reign in the present through his Church, and to prepare ourselves for his glorious return at his Second Coming.

Dear Friends, “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.” (Romans 12:4-5)

Our parish community at Mount Carmel reflects the Catholic Church in miniature. I observe this in the way that our ministries seek to serve each other and the people outside of our community. I see this in the various prayers offered through mass intentions and devotions for both the living and the deceased souls in purgatory. I recognize this in the celebration of the saints who have gone before us and won the crown of salvation as victors in Christ. In all this we reflect what our Church wisely calls Communion of Saints.

A wise, elderly priest once celebrated an early morning Mass. Later that day, someone asked him, “How many attended Mass this morning?” and he answered, “There were thousands there—but I only saw three of them.” In other words, in addition to the three early birds in attendance, the priest included the thousands of souls from purgatory allowed by God to be present at this Mass, along with a multitude of invisible but very real angels and saints, “especially Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. Michael the Archangel. We don’t see everything that’s going on at Mass, and we would be overwhelmed and amazed if we could. Many deceased persons being cleansed and healed in purgatory are allowed to be present, especially if the Mass is being offered for them and especially if they had a great devotion to the Eucharist during their lives.

Dear Friends,

We have just gone through an election peacefully, for which we must be grateful to God. However, it is not an exaggeration to say that the period preceding the election and the election day itself were full of fears and anxieties at many different levels. Almost two weeks after the election, fear of the unknown about the future of our country may still be lingering among some of us, while others may be very optimistic. In this article, I want to dwell briefly on the power of trust in God over fear in an attempt to make some sense of our situation.

It is important that we, as Catholics, know not only what the Catholic Church does but why we do it, when it comes to our funeral rites. Like all liturgical rites, funerals have a specific function in the life of the Church. Catholic funeral rites actually consist of three liturgies, each serving a distinctive purpose in ministering to the bereaved and commemorating the deceased.

The first is the vigil, which takes place prior to the funeral mass, typically the preceding evening. The service consists of a Liturgy of the Word and intercessory prayer. It is typically celebrated at the funeral home but may also be celebrated at the church. It is a time for mourners to express their grief and to receive consolation. At the vigil, God’s word in Scripture is offered “as light and life in the face of darkness and death.” The vigil liturgy is the most appropriate time for a friend or family member of the deceased to offer a eulogy in their remembrance.

Dear Friends,

Last weekend, I gave you my state of the parish address, reflecting on my past year as your Pastor and laying out my plans for our parish going forward. I pointed out how excited and blessed I am to be your pastor. I reminded myself, too, as I often do, how grateful I must always be to God and to the several people that God brought into my own life over the years. That now includes you! It is this sense of gratitude that always brings a bright smile to my face, if you are wondering!

Many Catholics aren’t fully sure what Purgatory is or why it exists; perhaps you may be in that boat, too. Hopefully, this can help illuminate the role of Purgatory in the life of a Christian and how we can participate in helping souls get to Heaven through the prayers of the mass.

Dear Friends,

Since this weekend, my focus is on addressing the state of our parish at all Masses, so I decided to give a brief reflection on the liturgy of this 31st Sunday of Year B. Whereas the readings of this weekend focus primarily on Love: Love of God and Love of neighbor, my mind was drawn to the title of this article. I think this is for a good reason: who or what we love greatly influences our worship. Who and what do we worship in our society today?