Dear Friends,
That old Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, has a special meaning this year for it’s been 12 years of Christmases for me here at Holy Trinity Parish. I look back on all the events you and I have celebrated, worked on, suffered with, put up with, and laughed and cried through.
Perhaps some numbers will illustrate what this past decade has brought to this parish. Starting July 1, 2011 and going to this Christmas Day, Holy Trinity Parish has:
- Baptized 533 children and adults.
- Confirmed 331 teens
- Married 114 couples
- Buried 509 parishioners
- Welcomed 66 adults into the Catholic Faith
- Renewed the interior of the church.
- Replaced the church roof and many other unseen projects.
All this, while enduring a worldwide pandemic, 2 years of social distancing and masking, the at- tempted over throw of a presidential election, a war in Ukraine causing food shortages and millions of refugees.
So here we are, Christmas 2022. Have you changed over these years? Of course you have! Our children have become young men and women (no longer cuddling on the couch).
Parents, you’ve had to develop different skills to help these young adults. Spouses, your love for each other has had to dig deep to find the fountain of love that still flows but in a quieter, more powerful way.
Perhaps you’ve lost a parent, spouse, child, friend or mentor. Your love misses them. What will life be without them? Of course we’ve changed. The stream of life carries us on.
But some things don’t change. You are the same person your parents held in their arms. You have the name they gave you at birth. You still look for love and give it to others. You are and always will be a Child of God.
God had a great idea one day. He made you. He knows your joys and sorrows. He made you with a hunger to love and be loved. This hunger was given for the purpose of drawing you to Himself who is the source of love itself.
And just so we don’t get lost wondering through all life’s changes, God revealed His plan to bring us to the Kingdom of Love. It has already begun here on earth. It’s tiny. It’s a baby. He’s sleeping in a manger. It’s Jesus Christ, God’s love for us in human flesh.
A Blessed Christmas to you and all who hunger for this love.
Fr. Tim
