Dear Fellow Parishioners, I have been wondering how people ever come to know the real meaning of Christmas. “Jesus is the reason for the season,” doesn’t get much attention. Many strive to be “politically correct” and wish people “Happy Holidays.” Outside decorations are Santas, snowmen, Smurfs, grinches, reindeer, colored lights, Disney characters, and more. Even our holiday cards are pictures of summer vacations, and fun times. The music on the radio, talks about Grandma getting run over, and jingle bells, and rockin’ round the Christmas tree... I often hear that Christmas is for children.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, As we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, I invited us all to go deeper into our understanding of Matthew 25. Matthew 25 is all about recognizing Jesus in the least, the last and the lost. Our Catholic Social Justice teachings invite us to go deeper. We go deeper by analyzing or examining the situations that we see around us. For example, ask yourself, “Why are there hungry people in the richest country in the world?” Seeing social situations, judging them in light of Catholic Social Teaching principles, and acting to promote justice and improve the situations of those served. See, Judge, Act.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Being from Massachusetts I like many Baystaters come to think of Thanksgiving as our gift to the nation. Of course, the actual history tells a different story. George Washington in 1789 issued his Thanksgiving proclamation designating Thursday November 26, 1789 the first national celebration of public “thanks-giving.” It was President Lincoln that proclaimed Thanksgiving to be an annual celebration for our nation. Interesting enough, Thomas Jefferson in 1801 refused to endorse the Thanksgiving tradition because of its Puritan religious roots.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, Twelve weeks ago, we began a homily series on the “Fruits of the Holy Spirit.” We did so for two reasons; Pope Fransis asked all communities of faith to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on those who were assembling in Rome for the Synod on Synodality. As a parish we faithfully prayed the Synod prayer together each weekend, and we prayed daily at Mass during the sessions of the gathering. The second reason we focused on the Fruits of the Spirit is because the world right now is certainly not the way God says it ought to be. We need to refresh our memories of how we who have received the Holy Spirit need to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

Dear Fellow Parishioners, I recently met a young couple attending a funeral who met at Stonehill College. They are preparing for marriage and both active in their respective parishes. I was happy to hear that they were involved in ministries in their home parishes and asked what gave them the incentive to be so active in ministry. They made it clear that at Stonehill they deepened their faith in Jesus Christ and as Catholics, faith without service was never an option. Faith and action; faith and ministry, faith and service go hand in hand. I was happy to hear that a Catholic College like Stonehill was encouraging their students to make a difference in their parish and in the world.