Dear Parishioners,

      I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are already a whole week into 2024 and of course that means that Christmas season is wrapping up quickly! We celebrate the Epiphany this weekend and then the Baptism of the Lord on Monday brings Christmas season to a close.

      Along with the Nativity, the celebrations of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord make known to us the very face of God and at the same time reveal to us our deepest identity. At His birth, the angels glorified Jesus, showing Him to be Lord of the supernatural world. At Epiphany, the Star pointed Him out, revealing Jesus as Lord of the cosmos.

      The shepherds, who were Israelites, came to see Him and praise Him, while Herod feared Him and sought to destroy Him, showing Him to be the true King of the Jews. The magi, who were Gentiles, came from the East and bringing Jesus gifts worshipped Him, revealing Him as King of the Gentiles.

      So, the Nativity and Epiphany clearly reveal to us that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord of all, and at the Baptism we see Jesus as the Beloved Son of the Father, revealed to us as the Second Person of the HolyTrinity.

      The great beauty of all of these celebrations is that God reveals Himself to us, He manifests Himself to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. In seeing Jesus, the Beloved Son of God, we start to see ourselves more clearly. Jesus is Beloved Son by His nature, and by baptism we become beloved sons and beloved daughters by choosing, by adoption.

      We are His beloved children in whom He delights, and if we keep this truth at the forefront of our lives we will find the true joy of Christmas.

Have a great week,

Fr. Jim Theby