Peace and all Good!

Our celebration of Christmas continues today in this lovely Feast of the Holy Family. Among the many insights provided about the Holy Family in Matthew’s Gospel is that their family life was filled with tensions and unexpected turns. In this way, the Holy Family is a role model of faith in the face of familial troubles. There is no family—including the Holy Family—which is free from struggle and pain. Loving God is not meant to be an isolated experience—it should be shared with others. Likewise, the love we share with family members is to be shared with others. It is also true that internal and external forces can fracture families. I am thinking about the separation of immigrant children from their parents seeking asylum in the United States. Sadly, separating families is not a new issue. Think of the slave trade or the current unjust proportion of incarceration of black and Hispanic men. The question becomes: What can I do to help preserve the integrity and wholeness and sacredness of our families? Let us never forget that God called us by name before we were born and has knit us together as a family in the Lord.

Each year, we welcome new members to the Parish Pastoral Council through a discernment process. On next Sunday, in the context of prayer to the Holy Spirit, parishioners will be asked to nominate parishioners to serve on the council for a period of three years. All of these people are then invited to a special Discernment Meeting on January 14th. At that time, they will hear about the function of the Council and share their hopes and dreams for this parish community. Please see the bulletin for more details and be ready to recommend fellow parishioners for this very important pastoral leadership role. Thank you.

Next Sunday everyone is invited to a special “Epiphany Piano Concert” in Serra Center featuring Matthew Sakata, a gifted 11-year-old performer! There is no admission fee but you may give a free-will offering to help further this young man’s music studies. A reception follows. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

In closing, I wish everyone a Happy and blessed New Year! We usher in this new year on January 1st with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God (holy day of obligation). As the Mother of God, Mary carried in herself God’s most perfect blessing. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

Love, Fr. Vince