Reflection for the 4th Sunday of Advent
Finally, on this the Fourth Sunday of Advent, our Gospel Reading permits us to
begin our contemplation of the mystery of the Incarnation we celebrate at
Christmas: “Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about”.
The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus from Joseph’s perspective.
We must not gloss over too quickly the difficult circumstances described in today’s Gospel. The way that Joseph and Mary face these circumstances tells us much about these holy people and their faith in God. Joseph and Mary are betrothed to be married. This is sometimes described as an engagement period, but it is more than that. Betrothal in first century Jewish culture was in fact the first part of the marriage contract. A breach of this contract was considered adultery. Mary is found to be with child. If adultery is proven, the punishment might be death. Joseph has rights under Mosaic law but chooses to act discreetly in his plans to break the marriage contract, so as to protect Mary. Then God intervenes.
The message of the angel of the Lord given to Joseph in his dream tells us much about the child that Mary bears and his role in God’s plan. He is conceived by the Holy Spirit. His name will be Jesus, which in the Hebrew means “Yahweh saves.” He will be the fulfillment of the prophecy heard in today’s first reading from Isaiah: “. . . The virgin shall be with child . . . and shall name him Emmanuel [God with us].”
Joseph does as the angel of the Lord directs. He takes Mary to be his wife and accepts the child in her womb as his own. Joseph and Mary are both cooperative with God’s plan. They are both models for us of what it means to be faithful servants of God.
24-hour Adoration
For better spiritual preparation for the celebration of Christmas 2022 you are all invited for 24-hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel. We begin our prayer on Monday Dec 19th at 7 pm, and close it with the devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel on Tuesday Dec 20th at 6.45 pm. What would be better than to wait for Jesus with Jesus. I pray that during this busiest time of the year you would find a few minutes to come and make room for Jesus in your heart.
Christmas gift
It is with a holy joy for me to announce that Santa Claus was very generous to our parish this year. On Tuesday Dec 20th after 7 pm Mass we’ll bless a new reliquary where we’ll display many relics of the saints. The reliquary is located on the wall to your left as you exit the church. On the right and the left side of the case are two images of our patrons: St. Genevieve and St. Maurice with their relics. We are so grateful to all of the people who made the reliquary possible: the case where the relics will be held was built by Zachary Cebulski many years ago as his Eagle Scout project, Jim Biddinger and his son in law Kevin Paterson worked on an installation process, and the relics were given to us by Roger Cebulski and Br. Jim O’Brian OFM Conv. All of them are original and are first-class relics. May these visible signs of the presence of the saints in our church help us to recall their intercession for us more often and find an even deeper desire to become like they are, A SAINT!
Christmas Mass schedule
This year it happens that Christmas falls over the weekend. You are all invited to celebrate the Lords Nativity with us! On Christmas Eve – Saturday at 4 pm, at Midnight Mass, or Christmas Day on Sunday at 10 am. Bring your children, grandchildren, invite extended family and friends and rejoice with us in the presence of Emmanuel, God with Us. Happy and peaceful last week of Advent.
Fr. Tom