Epiphany:[B]:Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2- 3a, 5-6; Mt. 2:1-12

Epiphany:[B]:Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2- 3a, 5-6; Mt. 2:1-12

Introduction: The Greek word Epiphany, means appearance or manifestation. First, the angels revealed Jesus to the shepherds.  In the Western Church, the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ first appearance to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, while in the Eastern Church, the feast is the commemoration of   the baptism of Christ where the Father and the Holy Spirit gave combined testimony to Jesus’ identity as Son of God. Later, in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus revealed himself as the promised Messiah, and at Cana he revealed his Divinity by transforming water into wine. These multiple revelations are all suggested by the Feast of the Epiphany. 

Event: On a cold morning three palm fruit farmers were warming themselves by the fireside. Soon two of them were engaged in a heated debate comparing their religions to decide which one was the true religion. The oldest among them, sat quietly listening to the debate. Suddenly the two turned to him and asked, “Decide for us. Which religion is the right one?” The oldest man rubbed his white beards and said thoughtfully, “Well, you know there are three ways to get from here to the oil mill. You can go right over the hill. That is shorter but it is a steep climb. You can go around the hill on the right side. That is not too far, but the road is rough and full of potholes. Or you can go around the hill on the left side. That is the longest way, but it is also the easiest.” He paused and then added, “But you know, when you get there, the mill man doesn’t ask you how you came. All he asks is, ‘Man, how good is your fruit?’”

Exegesis:  Today’s Gospel reminds us that if God permitted the Magi – foreigners and pagans – to recognize and give Jesus proper respect as the King of Jews, we should know that there is nothing in our sinful lives that would keep God from bringing us to Jesus.  There were three groups of people who reacted to the Epiphany of Christ’s birth. The first group headed by King Herod tried to eliminate him, the second group, priests and scribes, ignored him and the third group, represented by the shepherds and the Magi, came to adore him.

Joke: While they were talking about the story of the three wise men, a woman asked her parish priest this question, "Do you know why God gave the star to the wise men?" When he professed his ignorance, she told him: "God knows men are too proud to ask directions. If there had been three wise women instead of three wise men, they would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and given some practical gifts!”

Practical applications:  a) Let us worship Jesus at Mass with the gold of our love, the myrrh of our humility and the frankincense of our adoration. b) Give a new direction to our lives.  Just as the Magi chose another route to return to their homes, let us choose a better way of life, abstaining from proud and impure thoughts, evil habits and selfish behavior.  c)  Let us become stars leading others to Jesus, as the star led the Magi to Jesus.   Let us  remove the darkness of the evil around us by giving Jesus’ love through selfless service. Thus we will make sure that we belong to the group of shepherds and Magi.

Introduction: Epiphany of the Lord

Message: All nations are invited to sing the Lord’s praises for they have been called to hear the good news and worship the long awaited Messiah and King with the gift of their lives.

Saints and Events in this week: 5 – Fifth – Monday – Saint John Neumann, Bishop; 6 – Sixth – Tuesday – Saint Andre Bessette, religious; 7 – Seventh – Wednesday – Saint Raymond of Penyafort, priest;

 

Epiphany : Jan-8; Is 60: 1-6; Eph 3: 2-6; Mt 2: 1-12

Epiphany : Jan-8; Is 60: 1-6; Eph 3: 2-6; Mt 2: 1-12

Story : Once upon a time there lived in Bethlehem a woman named Babushka. She kept the cleanest and neatest house in town and was also the best cook. She heard rumors of three kings coming across the desert but paid no attention to them because she had so much work to do. Then she heard the sounds of drums and pipes and a cavalcade of riders. She looked out the window and there were three richly dressed kings coming towards her house. They told her that they had come to honor the little prince who had been born in Bethlehem and they needed food and lodging. Babushka cooked a wonderful meal for them, remade all the beds, and wore herself out. The next morning the kings begged her to come with them so she too might see the little prince. Babushka said she would follow after them as soon as she finished the dishes. She cleaned the house again and then took out of a cabinet the toys of her own little prince who had died so long ago. She had no more need of them and would give them to the new little prince. She put them in a basket and sat down for a moment’s rest before she followed the wise men. Hours later she woke up, grabbed the basket, and rushed into town. But the kings were gone and so was the little prince and his parents. Ever after, it is said, Babushka has followed after them. Whenever she finds a new born babe, she looks to see if he is the little prince. Even if he (or in our days she too) is not there, Babushka leaves a toy for the child. I think she probably found the prince early on, but we still should learn from her lesson: we should never let the important interfere with the essential.

Who were they, these three men we call magi?  Were they kings?  Popular tradition refers to them as the three kings, and maybe they were.  Certainly, their gifts were those one king would offer to another.  The title “king” was used rather loosely in the ancient East.  They may have been more similar to the medieval counts or dukes. The Hebrew prophets, particularly Isaiah, had foretold that kings would flock to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. So, it would be acceptable to consider them as kings.  Sometimes they are referred to as astrologers.  Were they astrologers?  Well, they were astrologers in the sense that they studied the sky looking for the sign that the Golden Age would begin.  Perhaps, they were more astronomers than astrologers. The ancient people believed that the birth of the Great One would be accompanied by rejoicing in the heavens.  The Hebrew people also believed that nature would respond to the momentous event. Recent studies have shown that those east of Judea would have indeed seen a phenomenon in the sky, a star in their sense of the term, right at the time of the birth of Jesus.  Were the three simply wise men?  Certainly, they were wise, but wiser than most men.  They were willing to leave their lands, their comforts, and journey to find the great King whose birth was announced by the star.

Joke-2) An 8-year-old asked, "How come the kings brought perfume to Jesus? What kind of gift is that for a baby?" His 9-year-old sister answered, "Haven't you ever smelled a barn? With dirty animals around, Mary needed something to freshen the air."

And, how about this King Herod?  Who was he?  He was to be known as Herod the Great. His son, Herod Antipas, would be the king who would put John the Baptist to death and mock Jesus. Herod the Great built up much of Jerusalem, including the second Temple, a wonder of the ancient world. This Herod was a fierce politician.  His family came from the Roman province of Idumea, and had been pagan themselves.  They became Jewish in order to rule in Palestine under the protection of Rome.  So Herod was always suspected by the Jews as being a Jew in name only, but not committed to Yahweh.   In 40 BC the Roman Senate declared that Herod was King of the Jews.  He spent most of his reign trying to protect himself from being overthrown.  His own family was not safe from his paranoia.  He sent his wife and son into exile.  When his young brother-in-law was becoming too popular, he had a "drowning accident" in what archaeology has shown to be a rather shallow pool.  Herod also had three more of his sons killed when he  suspected  them of plotting against him. Many modern writers repeat the probably apocryphal story that the Emperor Augustus remarked, "It is better to be Herod's pig than his son."  By the way, that was a pun, the word for pig in Greek was hios and the word for son was wehous. Since the Jews did not eat pork, the lives of Herod’s pigs were safer than those of his sons.

So when the three magi called on Herod and asked where is the new born King of the Jews was, all that Herod could hear was that once more his power was being challenged. You can understand the phrase, “He was greatly troubled and all Jerusalem with him.” That he would send his soldiers to kill all the children born in the vicinity of Bethlehem is in perfect keeping with how he protected his reign.  This Herod would die a year or two after the birth of the Lord.

Herod and the magi offer a study in contrasts.  Herod was a man of the political world, fiercely holding onto his power.  The magi were men devoted to finding the King announced by the star, even though they did not know who this King was or exactly where the star would lead them.  Herod was a Jew in name but a pagan in all things.  The Magi were pagans in name, but acted like sincere Jews seeking the One who was the summit of God’s Plan for mankind.

Sixteen centuries later, the mystic and doctor of the Church, St. John of the Cross, would reflect on his own life in a way that was similar to the lives of the ancient magi as well as the lives of all who seek the Lord.  In “Songs of the Heart....” John of the Cross wrote, “I went without discerning and with no other light except for that which in my heart was burning.”

And so, we journey to the Lord.  Where exactly are we going to find Him?  We really don’t know.  He may be in marriage.  He may be in the priesthood or religious life. He may be in the life of the single determined to spread Christianity.  He may be in children and Teens. He may be in a career.  He may in our caring for a sick spouse or relative.  He may be in the outcast who reach out for us. He is in all these and countless more places.  If we are wise, we will spend our lives seeking Him out, wherever He is.  And yes, we might get sidetracked. Yes, we might find ourselves seeking Him in the wrong place, like in the palace of a hypocritical King Herod.  We may start a career that is wrong for us. We may have to break a relationship that is unhealthy for us. But if we are attune to God’s Word, He will set us straight and direct us to the course we need to follow.  We will all get to our Bethlehem’s if we are open to God’s call.

“Where am I going with my life?” we  ask ourselves.  Ideally, our answer should be, “I am going to Jesus, wherever He might be.”  “When will I get there?” we also might ask.  And we answer, “I will get there when the Lord decides that the journey of my life is complete.”  For none of us has arrived at the goal of fully embracing the Lord.   We need to keep searching for Him throughout our lives.  After all, our lives are journies of  love, There are always new places to find love.

Joke-1) The little boy turned in his Christmas drawing to the teacher. It showed two camels approaching the inn, over which was painted a huge star. But the third camel and its rider were shown gong away from the inn. "Why is the third man gong in a different direction?" asked the teacher. "Oh," said the boy, "he's just looking for a place to park."

At times the journey is difficult.  We are called to be moral in an immoral society. We are called to stand for life in a society of death. We are called to embrace the joy of the Lord in a society that exalts in diabolical hatred. It is easy for us to give up and  to give in.  It is easy to take the drink that will destroy us, the drug that will dull us.  It is easy to go with the flow of an immoral relationship. It is difficult to step away from all this and stay on the path to the Lord. But we can stay on that path.  We can, and we must.  The world is counting on us completing the journey of our lives.  For those who complete their journey reveal to the world the Presence of its Savior.  And we journey, not alone, but guided, guided by an interior star, the voice of the One we love who calls to us deep within ourselves.  And we go “without discerning and with no other light except for that which our hearts is burning.”

We pray today for the wisdom to seek and discern the truth, the Lord.

Mary, Mother of God - Jan-1

Today is the octave day of the Nativity of the Lord; Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.

Message: We seek God’s blessings as did Mary.  Because of her Son, we can confidently call God, “Abba”.

Since we celebrate the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God on New Year’s Day, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year?  I pray that the Lord Jesus and His mother Mary may enrich your lives during the New Year with an abundance of God’s blessings.  Today’s Feast of Mary, the Mother of God is a very appropriate way to begin a new year, reminding us to rely on the powerful intercession of our Heavenly Mother. The Church observes this day also as the World Day of Peace and invites us to pray specially for lasting peace in the world throughout the New Year.

Today’s Gospel describes how the shepherds spread to all their neighbors the Good News surrounding the birth of Jesus which the angel had revealed to them, and how Mary treasured "all these things" in her heart. 

Let us make the New Year meaningful by trying to be pure and holy like our Heavenly Mother.    Happy New Year

Holy Family: [B]: Sira3:2-6,12-14,Colo3:12-21, Lk 2: 22-40

Holy Family: [B]: Sira3:2-6,12-14,Colo3:12-21, Lk 2: 22-40

Introduction:  Two thirds of United States families do not eat their meals together. Of the third who do, 50% are watching TV during the meal. The average child over 8 watches three and a half hours of TV daily, largely because the tired parents use the TV as a baby sitter at the end of a long day. (Economic Policy Institute) "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed on the world." When poet WB Yeats wrote these lines, he might have been speaking of contemporary family life. The Feast of the Holy Family is not as old as one might think. Its origins are found only in the seventeenth century.

Exegesis:  Family life today is a most difficult pursuit. One thinks of divorce, the scourge of alcohol and narcotics, the breakdown of discipline, and all the rest of the unhappy lot. We should pay attention to St Paul's letter to the Colossians in Asia Minor. Apparently word had reached Paul that Christian families in Colossae were falling apart. And so he notes the qualities that must be in a Christian home. Sit back and allow Paul's magnificent words to seep into your spirit. "Bear with one another. Forgive one another... Over all these put on love...Christ's peace must reign in your hearts...Be thankful. Wives, cherish your husbands. Husbands, love your wives. Children, obey your parents in everything." What a home it would be were one to find all the qualities Paul enumerates! They would be Hall of Fame material. People would fight to visit and just hope the family magic would rub off on them and their families. Why not allow it to be your home?

Today’s Gospel describes how Joseph presented Mary and the Child Jesus in the Temple for the ritual of the mother's purification and the child's "presentation." 

Practical Applications: "The lawyer is two, and the doctor is four," the grandma replied. We all have great ideals for our children. It is not that they need to become a lawyer or doctor to make us happy, but we do want them to grow up into the finest people they can be, using their potential, being happy in their lives. If this is what we really want for our children, then like Joseph and Mary in the Temple, we must dedicate our treasures to the Lord. For our children to fulfill their potential they must find the reflection of God they were created to bring into the world. Children must find the Lord not just in the Temple or the Church, they must find the Lord primarily in their families. This is the Feast of the Holy Family.  It is a day when we consider the spiritual life of our families. We ask ourselves today, "Can all the members of our family find the Lord in our homes?

Introduction: The feast of the Holy Family

Message: Family life is rooted in the unconditional love of God as witnessed by the Holy Family.  Mindful of his covenant, God blesses the faith of Abraham and Sarah in their son, Isaac.  The child Jesus and his parents are blessed by Simeon.

Saints and Events in this Week: 29 – Twenty Ninth – Monday – Fifth day within the Octave of the Nativity of the lord; Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop, Martyr; 30 – Thirtieth – Tuesday – Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord; 31 – Thirty First – Wednesday – Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord; Saint Sylvester First, Pope; First of January 2015 - Thursday – The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord: Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God, Holy Day of Obligation(USA); 2 – Second – Friday – Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, Doctors of the Church; 3 – Third – Saturday – The Most Holy Name of Jesus; 

Christmas – 2014 – Merry Chirstmas

Christmas – 2014 – Merry Chirstmas

Joke: Mark Twain refers to it in one of his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus walked."

Exegesis:  Christmas is finally here. All four weeks of Advent we have been waiting and praying for the coming blessings of Christmas. And now Christmas is here. Today the angels are bringing us the good news of great joy for all the people, for to us is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. As people of God we have a claim to the joy and the peace that the birth of Christ brings to the world. But how do I personally enter into this "great joy" of Christmas? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes, but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question, for, even though God has declared joy to the whole world, there are still many among us who do not flow in this joy, many among us who do not know how to claim this joy and make it their own personally.

Practical:  We are thinking about Santa bringing gifts for Christmas but forget Jesus to be welcomed. We arrange Christmas trees with light and decorations, but for get to incorporate St. Joseph, Holy Mary and infant Jesus.  Of course, Jesus is light of the world. We use red colors of Santa but forget the angelic color of white. Are we thinking about gifts for us by Santa instead of thinking about gift for Jesus like the three magi did?   Gifts make us happy, but never forget the cause of that happiness, Child Jesus.

I wish all of you a wonderful and fun filled celebration of this joyful season. Therefore: “Sing psalms to the Lord with harp, with the sound of music, with trumpets and the sound of the horn, acclaim the King, the Lord” who is with us. Merry Christmas!

Christmas - Homily - 2011

Christmas Homily :                                                                                               Joke 1) It was Christmas Eve in a supermarket and a woman was anxiously picking over the last few remaining turkeys in the hope of finding a large one. In desperation she called over a shop assistant and said "Excuse me. Do these turkeys get any bigger?" "No" he replied, "They're all dead".

Anecdote: 1) When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today? In 1223 when St. Francis of Assisi used a nearby cave and set up a manger filled with straw and his friend, Vellita, brought in an ox and a donkey, as in the Bethlehem original, nobody imagined how that novel idea was going to evolve through centuries. When Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today? There is an unproved legend that Martin Luther is responsible for the first Christmas tree. This story says that one Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through the snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of the trees in the snow. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a small fir tree and shared the story with his children. He decorated the Christmas tree with small candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth. For us, each yearly approach of December 25 gives us one more opportunity to pause, and in the midst of all the commercialized excitement, elaborate decorations and expensive gifts which mark Christmas in our day, to consider again the event of Christmas and the Person Whose birth we celebrate.

Joke 2) ) Mark Twain refers to it in one of his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus walked."

Event 1) A certain missionary was working in a rural African village that had no easy access to good drinking water. People walked for miles to the nearest river to get water. With his encouragement the people undertook a self-help project to sink a borehole. The local government supplemented the people's efforts and a borehole was sunk in the village. In the meantime the missionary had left the village. Soon the village was enjoying fresh and clean drinking water from the borehole. So they wrote the missionary to come and see them and the great difference the borehole had made in the village. He went back to the village and rejoiced with them for the borehole that now gave fresh, clean water on demand. Then he decided to go round and visit some of his old friends. He entered the house of an old woman and asked her to give me a cup of the borehole water to drink. To his surprise she said that there was no drinking water in the house. "But the village now has water," he said. "Yes," she replied, "but the trouble is with my grandson who lives with me. I tell him to go and get water from the borehole and he wouldn't listen to me. All he does is run about and play."

There you are! You see, it is possible for someone to die of thirst in a village that has abundant drinking water. Why? Because there is no way the water out there in the borehole can become your own personally until you lift your foot to go there and draw the water that already belongs to you. The water in the borehole is yours by right. You are entitled to it. But you need to do something to claim this right before it can become your own personally, before it can actually quench your thirst. So is the good news of great joy that God showers on the world at Christmas. We still need to do something, make a little effort, before we can personally experience this joy in our lives, in our families, and in our world.

How do we do that? Well, that is rather easy to explain but pretty hard to practice, so I'll explain. Look at the word JOY. You see that it is made up of three letters: first J, then O, and lastly Y. J stands for Jesus, O for Others, and Y for You. Joy therefore is: Jesus, Others, before You. To know joy in our lives we need to place Jesus first in everything. Secondly, we need to try to please others before trying to please yourself. That is the recipe for joy. That is how we can convert the Christmas "joy to the world" into a personal "joy in my life" now and always.

As we listen to the Christmas story we would do well to pay attention to the various people and groups of people that are mentioned and see whether they try to please Jesus and others before themselves, or whether they seek their own interests first. You will discover that those who practice J-O-Y are the ones who enjoy peace and joy, and that those who practice "self first" are always the unhappy and miserable ones. Here are a few examples.

Joke 3) A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands. He noticed a young man who showed up in the church for Christmas and Easter as Poinsettias & Easter Lilies do.  He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside. Pastor said, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" My friend said, "I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor." Pastor questioned, "How come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?" He whispered back, "I'm in the Secret Service."

On the negative side we have the innkeeper who turned Joseph and Mary out in the cold night while he enjoyed the warmth of the inn. There's also Herod who wanted above all his job security as king to the point that he was prepared to kill Jesus and others. These people never get to experience the joy of the good news. On the positive side, consider the shepherds who leave everything they own, their flock, in the bush and go to adore Jesus first. Or the magi, the wise men from the East who leave the security of their homeland and make a long and dangerous journey to Bethlehem just to worship the new-born Jesus and give him gifts. These are the one's who receive God's favour, the ones who experience in their hearts the true peace and joy of Christmas. Let us today resolve to follow their good example by always placing Jesus and others before self and then the joy of Christmas will always be ours.

IV Sunday-Advent:[B]:IISam7:1-5,8-12,14-16;Rom16:25-27;Lk1:26-38

IV Sunday-Advent:[B]:IISam7:1-5,8-12,14-16;Rom16:25-27;Lk1:26-38

Introduction: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." (Lk 1:28) For nearly two millennia Catholics, and other Christians, have committed to memory these words of the angel Gabriel, "Ave Maria, gratia plena", as they pore devotedly over the sacred scriptures. The angelic salutation, now incorporated into the prayer of the Hail Mary, is sent up to heaven millions of times each day from every corner of the globe. Our frequent repetition of these words makes a sense of awe for the fantastic event which they announced: the incarnation of God.  Today is the 4th and the last Sunday of Advent before Christmas and we are in the immediate preparations for Christmas. 

Exegesis: The Scripture Readings of today speak about the preparations that God made for his Son to be born among us and as one of us. In the First Reading from the 2^nd Book of Samuel, King David wishes to build a house for God better than his own. He seeks some way to give thanks to God for all the blessing he received from him. But God has not finished filling his life with blessings. In the Second Reading from his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul speaks about the mystery of salvation about to be revealed and marvels at the divine plan and gives glory to God. In the Gospel Reading from St. Luke, we have the familiar passage of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she has found favor with God and announces the divine identity of the child whom Mary is about to conceive through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Event: There is a Persian legend.  A certain king needed a faithful servant, and two men were candidates for the office. He took both at fixed wages, and his first order was to fill a basket with water from a neighboring well.  And the King said that he would come in the evening and see their work. After putting in one or two bucketfuls, one man said, “What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we put the water in one side it runs out the other.” The other answered, “But we have our wages, haven't we? The use is the master's business, not ours.” “I am not going to do such fool's work,” replied the other. Throwing down his bucket, he went away. The other man continued until he had exhausted. Looking down to the well he saw something shining—a diamond ring. “Now I see the use of pouring water into a basket,” he cried. “If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was emptied, it would have been found in the basket. Our work was not useless.” Christians must believe that their divine Master knows what is best, and obey his commands, and in due time they will know and understand.

Practical Applications: We need to say a courageous and generous “Yes” to God as Mary did.  True obedience comes from a free choice made in the light of what is true and good. It often requires a great deal of courage, because it can involve going against the tide of social expectations. True obedience also aims at putting oneself at the service of something/Someone that is greater than oneself by accepting what God clearly wants us to do or what He wants to do through us. Jesus' own moment of greatness, like his Mother’s, came when he said “Yes,” to his Father, and Jesus' own obedience is our model. Will we surrender to God and allow God to do what, from our human point of view, seems impossible?  Will we surrender our agenda, our will and our kingdom to God and allow God’s agenda, will and Kingdom become a reality for and through us?  It is by saying, with Jesus and Mary, a  wholehearted  and  totally  unconditional  “Yes,”  to  God  that Jesus will be re-born in me or maybe even born in me for the first time. By my saying “yes,” Jesus will be born or reborn in others too.

Fourth Sunday in Advent: Introduction

Message: David’s posterity shall endure forever.  His kingship finds its fulfillment in the son of Mary, Jesus the Christ.  To him be glory and praise forever.

Saints and Events in this Week: 23 – Twenty Third – Tuesday – Saint John of Kanty, Priest; 24 – Twenty Fourth – Wednesday - Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord; 25 – Twenty Fifth – Thursday – The nativity of the Lord – Christmas – Holy day of obligation; 26 – Twenty Sixth – Friday – Saint Stephen, the first martyr; 27 – Twenty Seventh – Saturday – Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist;