My Dear Friends in Christ,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Today marks the Octave Day of Christmas and the dawn of a New Year. At the beginning of the New Year, I want to wish you and your families the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May our Newborn King bless you and your families with peace and abundant blessings during this Holy Season and throughout the New Year.
Liturgically, today is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. At the Council of Ephesus in 431, Mary was declared Theotokos, the God-bearer. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the Son of Mary. Mary gave Jesus His flesh. The Word became Flesh and made His dwelling among us. Mary is the Mother of Jesus, who is God; she is the Mother of God. She is also our Mother, given to us at the foot of the Cross. At the dawn of the New Year, let us commend our family members and parish to the Mother of God, asking for her help. She is also Queen of Peace; on this World Day of Peace, let us invoke her intercession for peace in our hearts, our families, and our world.
Historically, this was the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. On the eighth day after the birth of a child, the Jews would have the child circumcised as a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham. The child would also receive his name on that day. Jesus, born of a woman in the fullness of time, born under the law, was circumcised on the eighth day. The name Jesus means God saves. God saves us from our sins through the outpouring of His Precious Blood, most significantly at Calvary. But the first drops of His blood were shed at His circumcision. His mission in the world was to be our Redeemer. Through His Blood, He has inaugurated the New and Everlasting Covenant, of which we are sharers.
Today is the World Day of Prayer for Peace. On the occasion of the Fifty-Third World Day of Peace, His Holiness Pope Francis has issued a message, entitled, “Peace as a Journey of Hope: Dialogue, Reconciliation and Ecological Conversion.” The message begins by stating that “Peace is a great and precious value, the object of our hope and the aspiration of the entire human family.” The Pope encourages us to embark together on a journey of peace, which involves dialogue and listening; a journey that involves forgiveness; and finally, a journey that involves ecological conversion. Peace is also a journey of reconciliation in fraternal communion. The Holy Father notes that “only by choosing the path of respect can we break the spiral of vengeance and set out on the path of hope.”
Peace is a journey of ecological conversion. We must stop to contemplate the world that “God has given us as a gift to make our common home.” We need a new way of looking at creation and life. The conversion of which Pope Francis speaks must be understood in an integral way, “as a transformation of how we relate to our brothers and sisters, to other living beings, to creation … and to the Creator, who is the origin and source of all life.” At the dawn of the New Year, let us examine our relationships and ask God to bestow on us the gift of peace.
2020 is a big year for St. Ignatius! It marks the 50 th anniversary of the dedication of our church building. As a parish we will begin the preparations for the celebration of our 75 th anniversary as a parish. I, for one, am happy to begin this New Year as your pastor. What a joy it has been to spend these days of Christmas with you. I feel like a priest again! Thank you to all those who sent cards and gifts and who helped make our liturgies so beautiful. As the parish begins its celebrations, it is important for us to begin to reflect on the many blessings God has bestowed on us over the years, even as we look forward in hope to the good things He has prepared for us.
May God’s abundant blessings be upon you and your families in this New Year!
– Fr. Fernandes
