A Merry and Joyous Christmas to you, to your family and to your loved ones! For me the best day of the week to
celebrate the Birth of the Messiah is Sunday, the Lord’s Day. The days of Advent with its beautiful readings,
especially from the prophet Isaiah, prepared us to be well disposed to celebrate and recognize the coming of the long
awaited Savior of the Jewish people. The Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the Emmanuel (God is with us), the
Christ Child is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings come to us so humbly, so simply and so wonderfully in the
manger at Bethlehem.

On this Christmas day, in my name, in the names of our Deacons: Nelson Schexnayder, Michael Morrison and
Ron Chauvin, and in the name of the Staff of St. Elizabeth Seton Church, we offer to all of you our fellow Parishioners
our prayers and our best wishes at this holy season of the year. May each one of us take time to properly celebrate
the Christmas event in a personal, spiritual and religious manner as we renew our faith in the Lord Jesus, the one
sent by the Father to save us from our sins and to reconcile us to the Father and to give us true and lasting peace.
The mystery of the Incarnation, God becoming truly human in the person of the Christ Child, calls us to open our
hearts and our inner spirits to the providence of God. The blessings and the graces in the Messiah fulfill our greatest
needs and sustain us in our deepest longings. Take time to remember, take time to pray and to worship the Child
born of Mary on this Christmas Day.

Of the gifts and blessings that I am most grateful for, next to my personal faith in God and in the person of Jesus
Christ, the Messiah and the Prince of Peace, are my family and my friends. At this special time of the entire year,
may we value, appreciate and acknowledge the relationships of our lives. Being with loved ones makes the feast of
Christmas so meaningful and so enjoyable. May each one of us renew and refresh our commitment to the relationships
of our lives by doing our best to care for one another with the grace, the kindness, the mercy and the understanding
that comes from the love of the Lord for us that we know in the person of Jesus Christ. As the Father loves us so
devotedly and so faithfully in Christ, may we strive to love one another.

The coming of the Lord Jesus in our midst to save and to redeem us is a vocation and a way of life given us by the
words, the actions and the mission of the Messiah. St. Paul’s words to Titus that are the second reading for the
Midnight Mass for Christmas eloquently teach us the challenge of the Birth of Christ. “Beloved, the grace of God
has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly and
devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14) May our proper celebration of the Christmas Event bless all the relationships
of our lives and also make a real difference in the way we follow the Lord Jesus our Savior in all the actions, in the
ways we live our daily lives.

A word of gratitude to all of you who have been so faithful and so considerate during the Advent season by your
prayers, your kindness, your generosity and your goodness. As your Pastor, I thank you for your lived faith, for your
commitment to our Church Parish, for your willingness to share of your gifts and resources with others, and your
diligence in living your relationship with the Lord Jesus.

My love, prayers, best wishes 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. A holy, peaceful, wonderful, safe and joyful Christmas. Joyeux
Noel, Feliz Navidad and Merry Christmas!

Father Gary

Homework for the week of December 25 – December 31
John 1:1-4