News - December 2020 RSS Feed

On December 8, 1870 Blessed Pius IX declared Saint Joseph to be the Patron of the Universal Church. To mark that anniversary Pope Francis has announced that the Catholic Church would observe a Year in Honor of Saint Joseph, which actually began on December 8, 2020 and will end on December 8, 2021. Pope Francis has explained all this in his new Apostolic Letter entitled Patris Corde (“With a Father’ Heart”). There Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved Father, a tender and loving Father, an obedient Father, and father who is creatively courageous, a working father, and a father in the shadows.

On December 1, 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter entitled Admirabile Signum (“Enchanting Image”) on the meaning and importance of the Nativity Scene. As you read this it is now two days after Christmas. Happily we are still within the Christmas season which will last until January 10 when we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. One of the scenes that Pope Francis recalls in his Apostolic Letter is the origin of the Christmas crèche and the role that St. Francis of Assisi had in its origins. Let’s listen to the Holy Father tell this story:

We have experienced many disappointments during this time of pandemic. One of them was that Saint Nicholas had to cancel his customary visit to our parish on the Sunday, December 6, the Second Sunday of Advent and his actual feast day. Perhaps because Saint Nicholas (known by some by the nickname Santa Claus) had to cancel his travel plans this year, some of the children of the parish might be asking the question that Virginia O’Hanlon asked the editor of a New York newspaper many years ago. In anticipation of Christmas, which we will celebrate on this coming Friday, I want to print what is probably the most reprinted editorial in any newspaper in the English language. In 1897, the New York Sun received a letter to the Editor from Virginia O’Hanlon, who was eight years old and a resident of New York City. Her letter was only a four sentences long:

For many centuries this particular Sunday in Advent has had a special name “Gaudete Sunday.” This comes from today’s opening antiphon which begins with the word Gaudete, which means “rejoice.” Originally Advent was a forty-day period of penance that used to begin on November 12. Because this is one day after the Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Advent used to be called “St. Martin’s Lent.” Now Advent begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Andrew (sometime between November 27-December 3). While Advent is primarily penitential in spirit, it also reflects the joy of anticipation. The expectation not only refers to Christ’s first appearance on earth but also reflects his Second Coming. For the people of God who are waiting in between there is a third coming of Christ whereby he is in the hearts of all the faithful by his grace.

We are now in the second week of a new liturgical year. Often people make resolutions at the beginning of the year in the hope that they can make small improvements in their lives that will help us grow in virtue. One of the things that we could look at is how we spend our time, and notably how we spend our Sundays. What might we do now in the midst of the COVID-19 restrictions on our time and activities? What might we do when we return to a more “normal” schedule? Here are some thoughts.