THE VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS AND OUR FAITH FILLED SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS ENTRANCE INTO THE NATIVITY OF THE CHRIST WITH OUR FAMILIES AND FELLOW BELIEVERS..............

Surrounded by the front loaded frenzy of the holiday season, we come to the culmination of the Advent Season the vigil of the Nativity of the  Lord Jesus - Christmas Eve.  A day of immediate readiness for our personal, familial, and societal celebration of our Savior's Birth with meals, merriment, and exchange of gifts, Christmas Eve is like New Year;s Eve, in many ways the most sentimental day and night of the year.  We cherish loved ones near and faraway; remembering those who now share in the Christmas of Eternal Life; and partaking in the tastes, sounds, and activities, that denote the observance of the Christmas Season.  For Catholic-Christians the true observance of Christmas begins and ends with the inclusion of religious and spiritual practices that define the reason for the season of the Redeemer's Holy Birth.  Attendance at Christmas Mass and other Christian Worship Services; Prayers of Praise and Gratitude, in our homes or wherever we are, for the Blessings of Family, Faith, Friendship, and Fellowship; in acknowledgement and appreciation for all the Festival of Christmas represents for us as members of the Body of Jesus Christ and Family of Humankind.  I will spend today writing Christmas cards, organizing simple gifts, enjoying the small living evergreen tree very good friends provided me, listening to Christmas carols, and preparing a homily, before presiding and preaching at a Christmas Eve Vigil Mass with the Friedrich Family and concelebrating Midnight Mass in Sacred Heart Church with Msgr. Walton and Fr. Cletus.  I pray that you and your families will take time within the next day to include Interpersonal Prayer, Public Worship, and Shared Service and Remembrance of others in your celebration of Christmas 2014-2015..............Fr. Troy David