Dear Fellow Parishioners, Tidings of Comfort and Joy to all who enter here this Christmas Season. And what a wonderful gift is comfort and joy. We have spent this Advent Season taking the time to examine the mountains we make out of the mole hills of our lives; the times we dig trenches and valleys between ourselves and others; examining the holes in our hearts from the hurts and wounds that come our way through the life journey. In taking the time to look closely at the pit falls of life, we can then do the spiritual work encouraged by Isaiah and John the Baptist:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
As we stand on the threshold of a new calendar year may we make a straight and smooth path for the Lord to enter into our hearts and carry us through the challenges that will come our way in the year ahead. Let us also remember how important it is to be part of this faith community knowing that we have people who support us on the life journey. The best present we can receive, and the best gift we can bestow is the gift of Christ Himself, the gift of faith; for that is why we have this Christmas Season in the first place. As we enter 2022 let us open our eyes to see the presence of Christ in the least, the last and the lost; remembering that sometimes we fit into those very categories; especially when we have lost our way. Let our New Years’ Resolution be drinking in the comfort and joy Christ came to being and pour forth that comfort and joy from our hearts to the hearts of all who journey with us in the year ahead.