Letter from the Pastor
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January 12, 2025Today is the Baptism of the Lord; it is the second of three Epiphanies of the Lord.
Next Sunday is the third epiphany of the Lord, the wedding feast of Cana. Today’s feast, our Lord is revealed as the Beloved Son of the Father. Next week, we will see the power of God through the miracle of water made wine in Cana.
Liturgically, today’s feast is the end of the Christmas Season. In days gone by, the crèche would be kept up until February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, 40 days after Christmas. It was another beautiful Advent and Christmas season here at St. Margaret’s, thanks to you.
As we settle in for the winter months, here are some fun facts for you to ponder this New Year 2025:
Happy 452! This year 2025 is not just any year; it is a perfect square year. It’s the square of the sum of all the digits in the decimal system (0+1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9) 2 =2025. As well as the sum of the same digits cubed, 03…
The last perfect square year was 1936, and the next one won’t come until 2116 (91 years from now). Celebrate this unique 2025 year.
And they say there is no practical use for Algebra!!
Now, get ready to feel old!
The babies born on New Year’s Day 2025 are the first members of Generation Beta, which will include children born through 2039.
These kids, whose parents are mostly Gen Z (born 1995 to 2009) and the youngest millennial (born 1980 to 1994) represent the second generation born entirely in the 21st century, and many of them may live to see the 22nd century.
Their lives are expected to be fully integrated by AI and other rapid technological advances, which we haven’t imagined yet. Gen Beta will witness major demographic shifts, such as declining birth rates, yet have longer life expectancies.
Predictions state that by the year 2035, Gen Beta will make up 16% of the global population. Each subsequent generation will now be named with a Greek letter. So, future generations will not have cool names like The Greatest Generation (1901 - 1927); or The Silent Generation (1928–1945), or Baby Boomers (1946-1964); Generation X (1965-1980); Millennials (1981-96); Gen Z (1997-2010); Gen Alpha (2010-2024). Millennials are the largest generation group in the U.S. with an estimated population of 72.7 million. Millennials recently surpassed Baby Boomers (70 million) as the biggest group.
Every 15 years, there will be a new generation. What generation are you? And I imagine we would all say ours was the best generation! No matter what generation we belong to, we are God’s beloved sons and daughters through our baptism.
In this Jubilee Year 2025, we pray the Jubilee Pray for a new year of Hope:
Father in heaven,may the faith you have given us in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May Your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, Your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.Amen
