This week is an important week for our Holy Father, Pope Francis. He will celebrate the anniversary of his Priestly Ordination on Tuesday, December 13, and he will celebrate his 80th birthday on Saturday, December 17. Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and he is the first Catholic Pope from the Americas. We pray for our Holy Father at every Mass and we as Catholics have been so blessed during the time he has been our Supreme Pontiff. Pope Francis was elected Pope on March 13, 2013 following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI the month before for reasons of health. The three and a half years that Pope Francis has been our Pope have been so inspiring and so refreshing. Because of the way he lived his life before he was elected Pope, his personality and his spiritual commitment, Pope Francis brought a simple, humble and unpretentious attitude to his life and his ministry as Holy Father. Pope Francis has shown a willingness to reach out to everyone, especially the sick, the poor and those who are on the fringe of society. The recent Year of Mercy was a magnificent reminder that the key quality of our heavenly Father is his merciful love. The theme of the Jubilee Year of Mercy was ‘merciful like the Father.’ During this week, may we keep Pope Francis in our daily prayers and may we appreciate his role as the leader of our Church and may we also do our best to follow his example, be guided by his teaching and strive to imitate him in his humility, his simplicity and his kindness. A personal side note! If ever I have the honor of meeting Pope Francis, I will ask him when he was ordained a Priest. He will answer, December 13, 1969. Then I will answer calmly. I was ordained a Priest on June 7, 1969; five months and six days before him. Pope Francis is the first Pope in my lifetime that I have served longer as a Priest.

The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the Feast of the Birth of Jesus, the Lord and the Messiah. One of the best ways to prepare is to have a clean heart and a clear conscience. Bishop Deshotel has asked all the Priests of the Diocese to be more available for the Sacrament of Penance. The suggestion was that Priests would be in the confessional on the Wednesdays of Advent. I will be in the confessional the next two Wednesdays, December 14 and 21, from 6:30 – 8PM. I encourage you to come early if possible. The Messiah came to bring us peace and to reconcile us to the heavenly Father and to one another. Let the Lord Jesus be your Savior and your Shepherd during these days of Advent prayer and preparation.

That Man Is You concluded the fall semester of thirteen sessions on Tuesday morning, December 6. I compliment the men who have been so faithful and so consistent in their participation in the sessions. I am very grateful to the leadership group who have made all the arrangements and have followed through for the sessions. That Man Is You has been a great blessing to our church community as well as a challenge to the men. The effects for good are many in the men who have come to some or to all the sessions of TMIY. May the Lord continue to guide, to teach and to inspire our men to be true to their vocation as children of God, as disciples of Jesus and as the moral and spiritual leaders of their marriages and their families. We will begin the spring semester of That Man Is You in mid January.

The second reading for Mass this weekend (December 10-11) is from the Letter of St. James 5:7-10 about the importance of the virtue of patience. All of us need to be more patient and better able to stay calm when problems, difficulties and struggles come our way. Though we think we live in an ‘instant society’, very few things happen instantly that are truly good, worthwhile and healthy. It takes time to do what we need to do, to do our duties and carry out our responsibilities. The more patient we are, the more accepting we are of things as they are and not as we would have them, the more peaceful, the more serene and the more things work our for the good. Take time as you read these words of St. James to pray for a more patient attitude in your life to your family, to your friends and to all that you do in your life. Ask the Lord for a smile on your face when you face the challenges and the obstacles that life will give us, especially during these busy and hectic days of Advent as we prepare for the Feast of Christmas.

My prayers, best wishes, love and gratitude to you and to your loved ones, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. May Jesus be the reason for the season!

SHALOM! Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of December 11 – December 17
Matthew 21:28-32