Feast of the Holy Family

12-27-2020Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Merry Christmas! I pray everyone had a very good Christmas filled with the joy of the newborn Christ! Thank you so much to all of our staff and volunteers who did such a wonderful job making everything happen. We have been working short handed and though things do not always run smoothly we are certainly doing our best. This Sunday we celebrate Holy Family Sunday. I would like to share an excerpt from a homily of Pope St. Paul VI on his visit to Nazareth in 1964.

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4th Sunday of Advent

12-20-2020Gospel Reflection

In Blaise Pascal’s work, Pensees, he says: “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

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4th Sunday of Advent

12-20-2020Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

This Fourth Sunday of Advent finds us in great anticipation of the coming festivities of the Nativity of the Lord! The entrance antiphon for Mass is taken from Isaiah 45 and proclaims, “Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior.” The prophecies of Israel come closer to fulfillment during this time as we continue to prepare ourselves for Christmas. In the Gospel for this Sunday it begins, “The angel Gabriel was sent from God…” We know where this story is heading as Gabriel is about to announce to Mary the birth of Jesus.

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3rd Sunday of Advent

12-13-2020Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday! We are at the halfway point of Advent, celebrating Gaudete Sunday this weekend. The Church sings in the entrance antiphon, “Gaudete in Domino semper!”, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” We rejoice because the Lord is near. In fact, the opening prayer of the Mass begins thus, “O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity…” We continue to meditate on the theme of “waiting” which distinguishes Christian spirituality in this season. We are waiting for the Lord to come at Christmas, but also at the end of time. We are like the virgins who wait with lighted lamp and flasks of oil. No one can wait for us, each of us must be attentive to the signs of the Lord’s coming.

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2nd Sunday of Advent

12-06-2020Pastor's LetterFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday!

Thank you to all who participated in Giving Tuesday by supporting our endowment held by the Catholic Community Foundation. By growing our endowment, we prepare for stability in the future of St. Joan of Arc. If you were not able to participate, you can still donate and your gift will be matched by 50% up to $50,000!

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