A Word from Your Pastor - December 20 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dear Parishioners:

The Fourth Sunday of Advent opens to the final days of preparation for Christmas.  It is a special time of grace since we are now also in the Jubilee of Mercy.  Pope Francis has asked us to live in greater awareness of God’s Call to open our hearts to His Mercy and to allow our hearts to be transformed so as to show the world the Merciful Face of the Father in His Church.  As we prepare to welcome many guests to share with us the joy and beauty of Christmas in our church, with decorations and with the various Liturgies of Christmas, we must also resolve to be present to them with the Mercy that is offered in this Jubilee Year.

Throughout the Jubilee Year of Mercy, we will concentrate as a community on the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, the practical way of reaching out to others.  I will reflect on these in the weeks and months ahead, offering insights into how our Parish family seeks to live them and on how we may live them more intentionally in this time of grace.

The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are actions we can perform that extend God’s compassion and mercy to those in need.

The Corporal Works of Mercy are these kind acts by which we help our neighbors with their material and physical needs:

·        feed the hungry

·        give drink to the thirsty

·        clothe the naked

·        shelter the homeless

·        visit the sick

·        visit the imprisoned

·        bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy are acts of compassion, as listed below, by which we help our neighbors with their emotional and spiritual needs:

·        counsel the doubtful

·        instruct the ignorant

·        admonish sinners

·        comfort the afflicted

·        forgive offenses

·        bear wrongs patiently

·        pray for the living and the dead

If we are living in the Light of the Gospel, these actions become “second nature” to us, because they flow from the Life of Christ that is at work in us.  Works will not get us to Heaven – only the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ will accomplish that.  However, if we attend to these kinds of works, we can be confident that Christ’s Spirit is at work in us.

As we prepare to welcome Jesus Christ once again through our celebration of Christmas, may we grow in our capacity to show His Face as the Face of Mercy by the lives we lead.  A Blessed Christmas to all!