January 12, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Over the next few weeks, you may notice something a bit unusual in the church: we’re keeping our Nativity up until February 2nd. And it’s not just because we like how it looks! In much of the world, it’s customary to keep the Nativity scene from Christmas (the celebration of the Lord’s birth on December 25th) to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in his Temple (February 2nd). The idea is that we spend the month of January in the company of the Holy Family, reflecting on the hidden years of life and grace together. We have another grace within our parish family that is especially present to us this weekend. I am pleased to introduce our new associate pastor to the parish: Fr Vincent Bresowar. He is a priest of the Diocese of Birmingham and is joining us from a time of sabbatical between ministry assignments. It is a joy to receive the blessing of another priest within our community. Be sure to introduce yourselves and give him a warm welcome to our family of faith. With Fr Vincent’s arrival, we have a few significant changes to our regular schedule. We will be extending our 9am daily Mass to include every day Monday through Friday. And for those who would like to participate in the Eucharist daily, we will also be adding a Mass on Tuesday evening at 6pm (English) and Thursday evening at 6pm (in Spanish). Be on the look-out for other tweaks to our parish rhythm as we grow and learn! Through the grace of the Holy Family, may the Lord pour out his abundant blessings upon us in this New Year, in union with St. Francis and our patron St. Thomas. God bless,

Father Jantz