Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Friday afternoon, February 2, at the 5:30pm daily Mass, the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, a.k.a., Candlemas. The theme of Christ as Light pervades this celebration. Traditionally, we bless candles at the beginning of the Mass, which we then use in a short procession. We also bless some of the candles used in the celebration of Mass through the year. You are also welcome to bring candles from home that you will use in your private prayer to be blessed.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we make our way well into this new year of grace, 2018, here are a couple of reminders of special events coming our way:

Tomorrow, January 22, is a voluntary day of fasting and prayer for Respect for Human Life. All human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, regardless of age or even stage of development. God revealed this Himself by taking on human flesh in the Virgin Mary's womb. There never was a time that His miraculous conception could have been considered "not human." Saint John the Baptist even leapt at the presence of Jesus, newly conceived, in the wombof his own mother, St. Elizabeth.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First, I am excited to announce that we have launched a new, even more user-friendly version of the St. Mary's website. We have several improvements available, including on-line registration, e-giving registration, podcast homilies have returned, and more. Why not make us your home page to keep up with the latest goings on?

We have a few very special upcoming events to be sure to put on your calendar:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First, a sincere word of thanks to each person who helped make our Christmas celebrations outstanding and spiritually enriching. Thank you to the wonderful voices and leadership of all of St. Mary's choirs. Hours and hours of practicing go in to bring us such beautiful music. We are grateful for all the volunteers who set up for Masses, especially this year since our beloved sacristan, Ginny Whitaker, has been on medical leave. (Please continue to keep her in your prayers!) Many thanks to our lectors who proclaim the word of God, our extraordinary ministers who help the priests and deacons distribute Holy Communion, our ushers, and those who clean and prepare behind the scenes so well that you and I never know the amount of work it takes. What looks effortless is far from it! Thanks to those who serve the poor, helping us keep the works of mercy at our core. And, of course, a very special word of gratitude to all of our "elves," who decorated our churches and gave us the second largest indoor tree I've ever seen in my life. To all – thank you from the bottom of my heart. You help make St. Mary's great!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this Holy Family Sunday, I offer a reminder of why I start my columns the way that I do. In Judaism of the time of Jesus, your family was your tribe. Aramaic does not have a word for cousin. If you were a member of a tribe, then what we today might term as "cousins" in English were all called brothers and sisters. Today, we make distinctions between first and second cousins, third cousins once-removed, etc. We might help a first cousin because we consider them "close family," but we might ignore the plea of a fifth cousin because they are too distant of a relation. In Jesus' time even they would still be your brother or sister.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tonight is the night! Merry Christmas to all! The Christmas Masses, often bring many visitors to our parish, especially family members and friends of parishioners. We pray you find a warm welcome from our family of St. Mary's Church and School. May the love of the Christ Child born of the Virgin Mary bring us true peace deep within our hearts. Below is a short reflection on Christmas from Bishop Robert Barron. –

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today is the Sunday of Joy! The name "Gaudete" comes from the official Introit of the Third Sunday of Advent, "Gaudéte in Dómino …"; "Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:4-5). We light the rose candle in the Advent wreath and wear rose vestments, the color of the sky just before the dawn. The Lord is near! We are called to purify our hearts and make straight with joy the paths to Christ our Savior. He comes to us in our humanity, offering us a share in His divinity.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Sunday we give honor to our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Although the actual feast is Dec. 12, we move our celebration to the nearest Sunday so as many people as possible are able to participate.) This year, we are making the celebration more accessible to our whole parish with a bilingual Mass at 11am followed by a solemn procession down Park Avenue, returning to St. Angela Hall for an afternoon of fiesta. Even if you went to an earlier Mass, please come join us for the procession and fiesta!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy New (Church) Year! We begin a new year of grace in the Church's liturgical life. Advent begins not by looking to Christ's first coming as an infant, but to His glorious second advent – or coming. In the meantime, we learn to wait and prepare.

Here are a couple of suggestions to help make this Advent a real time of preparation. First, the fruitful Catholic discipline of Eucharistic Adoration in Ste Claire Chapel. To spend a half -hour or an hour in the presence of the Lord is not to achieve very much in the sight of the world, but it has immense power to deepen your faith. It is a particularly rich form of spiritual "waiting." As you keep vigil before Jesus truly there in the Blessed Sacrament, bring to Him some problem you have been agonizing over. "Lord, I'm waiting for you to solve this, to show me the way forward. I've been running, planning, worrying, but now I'm going to let youwork." Then, throughout Advent, watch carefully for signs.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, our liturgical year comes to its close with the celebration of the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. But don't let today be the only day that the Lord Jesus is King of your life. The fruits of the Holy Spirit, which shine forth in the life of each disciple who has made Jesus Lord of his or her life, can and should be practiced every day – "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Which of these might we be making excuses not to practice? Are we cultivating their opposites in our words and actions? When someone sees both our public façade and our private life, can they tell Jesus is our King?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

November is National Black Catholic History Month. "The contributions to the Church and to society by black Catholics such as Fr. Augustine Tolton, Sr. Elizabeth Drexel, founder of Xavier University in New Orleans, and countless others are remembered and celebrated this month. The three million black Catholics and all Catholics in the United States must rejoice in what has been accomplished and strive to add greatly to this work of faith.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Tuesday, November 14, we have a special treat for the 5:30pm Mass. After the Mass, we will have the opportunity to venerate a second-class relic of Venerable Father Solanus Casey, OFM, Cap., who will be beatified on November 18, after which he will be known as Blessed Solanus Casey. (Beatification is the step just before canonization.) Father Solanus "spent most of his adult life and ministry in Detroit, caring for the sick, poor and downtrodden and lending a listening ear and caring heart to the thousands who came to him for counsel, wisdom and aid" (The Michigan Catholic, May 9, 2017). He truly lived a Christ-centered life that inspired thousands to love God. Long before his death in 1957, people already came far and wide to ask his prayers. Over 8,000 people attended his funeral. Though he died of skin cancer with many lesions, his skin was found healed of the lesions when his body was exhumed. Come to Mass to hear more about this remarkable gift to the Church in the United States – and to the world. Father Solanus Casey, pray for us!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are "moving dirt!" The south wing of our church's courtyard is officially underway. When finished (hopefully by May), we will have more much-needed handicappedaccessible meeting space. By now, the new St. Teresa of Calcutta Hall (a.k.a., Mother Teresa Hall) should be actively hosting our various ministries and study groups in its spacious interior. Once the porch is constructed on the side facing the garden, we will have an official blessing and open house. Mother Teresa Hall was accomplished, not by any capital campaign, but by generous donations of time and treasure from your generous fellow parishioners. We indeed have a very generous parish!