Letter from the Pastor
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January 9, 2022Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord; it is liturgically the end of the Christmas Season as well as the First Sunday in Ordinary Time. I hoped and prayed that all of you and your families had a very happy and blessed Christmas Season.
The Baptism of Christ is the second of three “epiphanies” of the Lord. Last Sunday was the epiphany to the Magi, today the epiphany of God’s Beloved Son, on whom His favor rests; and the third epiphany is the story of the Wedding Feast of Cana, the revelation of Jesus as God through His first miracle. Of course, our Lord didn’t need to be baptized; rather He showed us the importance and the real meaning of baptism.
Of all the countless good things our parents gave us, nothing can compare to the most beautiful gift of our baptism. If we could only grasp the profound meaning of that gift of baptism. It was the most sacred day of our life, nothing more sacred ever or will ever happen to us than what took place on the day of our baptism. That is why we should remember our baptismal date.
We share in the life and the love of our parents, in baptism we come to share in God’s life. Baptism is adoption and admission into God's family, into a relationship of a communion of love with the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is why Baptism is administered in the Name of God the Most Holy Trinity. These are not mere words; they are reality. They mark the moment when we are reborn as the children of God. God’s sanctifying grace is imbued into our hearts and souls. God begins to live within us; we become the walking temple of the Holy Trinity. That is why it is so vital and important to bring infants to the baptismal font as soon as possible. We shouldn’t wait to baptize an infant. By delaying or worse, deny a baby’s baptism, we are delaying God’s very life and grace within them.
It is at the baptismal font, where God’s life is given. Just as water is the first sign of new life coming into the world, the waters of baptism are the sign of new life in the Trinity. Many of the old baptismal fonts were 8 sided to reflect the “8th Day.” The number 8 signifies a new beginning. The Resurrection is considered the 8th day. Baptism is the new beginning of life with God.
Because of the early bulletin deadlines, I couldn’t thank all of you sooner for your generous Christmas gifts, cards and baked goodies to Fr. Clarke and me. You are so generous to us; Father and I are most grateful and appreciative.
Allow me also to thank you for your generous contributions to the Christmas collection. Thanks to those who contributed to the special Music and Flower collections. Sadly, the numbers attending Mass this year were down because of the fear of Covid, you still contributed to your parish. Once we close out the collection-season, I will certainly publish the numbers.
I would like to thank all those who made Christmas, once again a beautiful and prayerful experience. I would like to thank in a particular way, our choir and our Director of Music, Mark LaRosa. He along with the Choir put in many hours to make such beautiful music in honor of the Lord’s Nativity. If you missed our Lessons and Carols, or the Mass at Night on Christmas Eve, you missed something special; you missed beautiful and stirring music. Save the dates for next year, the Third Sunday of Advent for Lessons and Carols and Christmas Eve Mass at 10:00PM.
I would like to thank Mrs. Tara Hooker and her students who played beautiful harp music before the Christmas Eve Mass, and Dan Gurniak who sang Silent Night in German before the Night Mass, all our guest singers, our guest string ensemble and our magnificent Choir.
The ushers, lectors, ministers of Communion, those who help decorate our Church, the Rectory Staff:My Deep Gratitude.
For the last time until next year: Merry Christmas!
