On behalf of the priests and staff of St. Stephen the First Martyr, I wish a blessed Christmastide to our parishioners. The priests would like to express their warm gratitude for the Christmas cards and gifts received from parishioners. I would also like to thank the many volunteers – members of the altar guild, of the choir, decorators, and others – who made helped make Christmas beautiful for all the parish this year. I am grateful to the members of the Knights Penitent who assisting in preparing the church, taking over that responsibility from Judi Kasak, who organized it for some years now.
The whole life of Jesus was that of a supreme pontiff dedicated to the glory of the Father and the salvation of man. The priesthood attained its climax at the Last Supper and on Calvary. But the whole existence of the Savior is stamped with the priestly character. The first movement of his most sacred soul at the time of the Incarnation was a sovereign act of religion. The evangelists have not revealed to us the secret of this priestly oblation of the Savior; St. Paul, whose role it was to make known to us the mysteries of God and of his Christ, had knowledge of it: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world,” writes the apostle, “Christ said, Sacrifice and oblation Thou wouldst not: but a body Thou hast fitted for me. Holocaust nor sacrifice for sin did not please Thee. Then said I: Here I am – for it is written of me in the head of the Book – I come to do Thy will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7). In recognition of the supreme dominion of the Father, Christ offered himself to him without reserve. This ineffable offering was his reply to the unparalleled grace of the hypostatic union; it was a priestly act, the precursor of the redemptive sacrifice and of all the acts of the heavenly priesthood…. On his entry into the world, his soul, brilliant with the light of the Word, contemplated the divinity and, in this august majesty, it was given him to know the infinite majesty of the Father…. Turning to his Father in an outburst of inexpressible love, he abandoned himself absolutely to his good pleasure. At this sacred moment, as we may believe, all the activity of heaven was suspended in contemplation of this initial dedication of itself by the human nature of Jesus…. Ecce venio: accept me as a victim.
Dom Marmion
I remind everyone that a plenary indulgence is available on December 31, under the usual conditions, for the singing or recitation of the Te Deum. In like manner, on January 1, a plenary indulgence is available for the singing or recitation of the Veni Creator Spiritus.
I wish all of you good cheer and peace to men of good will, and I hope that many of you are able to enjoy some well-deserved rest from the cares of the world, time with loved ones, and the blessings of the Christ Child come unto the world.
The midnight Mass.
A Christmas poem composed by J.R.R. Tolkien put to song.
The aptly titled “Huron Carol”, composed by St Jean de Brebeuf in 1643 for his Huron converts. Originally it was sung in their native language and French.
In the year from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, five-thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine; from the Flood, two-thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seven; from the birth of Abraham two-thousand and fifteen; from Moses, and the going forth of the people of Israel out of Egypt, one-thousand five-hundred and ten; from the anointing of David as King, one-thousand and thirty-two; in the sixty-fifth week, according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the one-hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the seven-hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome; in the forty-second year of the reign of the Emperor Octavian Augustus; while the whole earth was at peace, in the sixth age of the world, Jesus Christ, Eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father, wishing to hallow the world by His most gracious coming, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit, nine months having passed after His conception, at Bethlehem of Juda is born of the Virgin Mary, having become Man.
Martyrology from the Vigil of the Nativity
The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.
