“The manger is the place where animals find their food. But now, lying in the manger, is He who called Himself the true bread come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in order to be fully ourselves. This is the food that gives us true life, eternal life. Thus, the manger becomes a reference to the table of God, to which we are invited so as to receive the bread of God. From the poverty of Jesus’ birth emerges the miracle in which man’s redemption is mysteriously accomplished.”
Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI
(Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives)
The Christmas season is now past us, but we need not stop approaching the manger, as Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI suggests. We need the manger; we need the food; we need the Christ-child grown into healthy man to die upon the Cross, to be laid in the Tomb, to rise on the Third Day, and to return upon our altars in each and every Mass to feed us with His own Resurrected & Glorified Self – Body & Blood, Soul & Divinity – in the Eucharist. Near the manger, the Angels sang. The shepherds came. The Magi bent their knees. There before the manger, in which the Child lay. And yet, we do more than the angels, the shepherds, the magi. We feed upon Him and have eternal life. Come let us adore Him. Come let us be fed!
The Unite Catholic Appeal – United in the Eucharist Archdiocesan Campaign is underway. The UCA supports a number of cross-parish and cross-deanery ministry needs for the whole archdiocese. This includes seminarian support, Catholic Charities (see QR code at right), and Catholic education and formation. The initial pledge weekend was back on November 12-13, 2022. Since then, 72 households from Holy Family have submitted pledges. Thank you for your response and fidelity. This number is substantially down from the 184 pledges returned last year. If you’ve not yet returned a pledge card, I would encourage you to do so. I recognize there are lots of requests and none of us can respond to all of them. Even if at this time, you cannot or choose not to make a financial contribution or pledge to the UCA, please return your pledge card, as that helps the parish participation rate. I’ve already returned my card, and I invite you to do the same.
+ Nothing Less than saints
for the Holy Family of God. +
Holy Family, obliged to live in a stable, Pray for us.
~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries