We continue our journey through the Octave of Christmas this weekend with the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family. This feast reminds us that Jesus was raised in a home, that he grew in age, wisdom, and in knowledge of God’s will for his life. He also grew in grace and obedience under the care of Mary and Joseph.
The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God follows the Feast of the Holy Family on New Year’s Day. This solemnity marks the end of the Octave of Christmas by celebrating the motherhood of Mary, remembering that it was from her that Jesus took his human nature, becoming one with us in all things but sin. This solemnity is a holy day of obligation and Mass will be offered on Tuesday evening at 5:15PM and on Wednesday morning, New Year’s Day, at 9AM.
As we continue our journey though the Christmas season, I wish to thank all who ministered and assisted in making our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations so wonderful, especially to those in our music ministry, our liturgical ministers, our ushers, and to our maintenance staff for their work in setting the environment in the church; a special thanks to our retired maintenance director Mike Hickey who journeyed up from Southern Illinois to help with the decorating.
With the ushering in of the new year, we will be making a change in office personnel. For just about three years now, Katie Price has served our parish as Director of Discipleship and Stewardship. She was instrumental in the refashioning of the bulletin into the Weekly and she helped to move us in a new and better direction in the area of stewardship and discipleship. Katie will be going full time in the diocesan curia in this area of ministry beginning January 1. While she will no longer be a member of our parish staff, we will still benefit from Katie’s expertise and energy. I thank Katie for all that she has done to help us to be better disciples. Please join me in wishing her the best and asking God to bless all her future endeavors.
How blessed we are to have this joyous season of light in the midst of the darkest days of winter, but also at a time when the light begins to lengthen ever so slightly and the darkness begins to recede. Please continue to enjoy the beauty of the season. It began, not ended, on December 25th and continues through Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord on January 12th. May the joy of Christmas continue to be yours and may you know God’s abundant grace and blessings in 2020. Happy New Year!
Father Christopher House is the Rector of the Cathedral and serves in various leadership roles within the diocesan curia, namely Chancellor and Vicar Judicial.