On Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast Day of the Holy Family, and Jesus, Mary and Joseph provide us with a model of love and unity. Their lives were centered on love: love for God, love for each other, and love for all humanity. In their humble dwelling in Nazareth, they showed us that love is the foundation of a strong and holy family. They teach us that love is not merely a feeling, but a choice, a commitment, and a way of life.
Within our own families, we are called to emulate the love of the Holy Family. It is in our homes that we first learn the meaning of love, where we experience the warmth of acceptance, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice. In our families, we have the privilege and responsibility of nurturing love, for it is the wellspring of joy and the source of our strength.
The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that love should not be confined to our homes alone. Love should extend to our neighbors, our friends, our communities, and even to those who may be strangers to us. Love is not meant to be limited; it is meant to be shared, multiplied, and offered freely to all. In the words of St. Mother Teresa, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” Love within the family radiates outward, touching and transforming the world around us.
While love is undeniably vital in the lives of our children, I recently came across a term I had never heard before and fits well with today’s feast—”mattering.” To matter means more than being loved; it means feeling valued, acknowledged, and significant. All people need to feel like they “matter” and are valued as individuals with gifts to offer others. The concept of “mattering” is what Catholic stewardship is all about—we all have gifts, and we are called to use them for the good of others and call others to use their gifts too.
In a special way, our children need to know that their thoughts, feelings, and dreams matter to us. As parents and guardians, we should actively listen to them, engage in their interests, and support their aspirations. By ensuring that our children know they matter, we empower them to grow into confident and compassionate individuals who will make a positive impact on the world. But it cannot be the sole responsibility of the immediate family, it is the responsibility of the whole community to ensure that our youth matter.
With that “mattering” in mind, we are thrilled to announce the grand opening of our new Youth Center, a space dedicated to our young members of the parish. We will have an Open House after all Masses on the weekend of January 6-7, 2024. We invite you all to join us for the special ribbon-cutting ceremony following the 5:00 pm evening Mass on Sunday, January 7. We’ll have Jesse Manibusan performing and may have some other special guests join us from the Vatican as I am hosting a Cardinal and a Bishop on Monday. They will be here for my work with iTEC, Santa Clara University and Ethics, and if their flight arrives on time on Sunday then they will join us for the ceremony! Please join us to celebrate.
Our Youth Center will serve as a hub for our youth to gather, learn, and grow in their faith. We hope that it will become a place where friendships are formed, memories are created, where our young parishioners truly feel that they matter to our community and that they forge lasting connections for generations to come.
Let us continue to draw inspiration from the Holy Family and their example of love and faith. Remember that our children not only need love but also the assurance that they “matter” in our lives. As we come together as a parish community to celebrate, may the Holy Family guide and inspire us as we strive to create loving and nurturing families.
Finally, speaking of mattering and stewardship, I am so grateful for all the people who came to Church over the last two weeks. Wow! It was so powerful to see our Church full to the brim so many times! It is good to be back in community together again. I want to thank the many Ministers who worked hard behind the scenes to get everything set up for our celebrations and to the Ministers who gave their time to ensure our liturgies ran smoothly.
Please join me in thanking all the music ministers, lectors, eucharistic ministers, Mass coordinators, altar servers, art & environment ministers, tech AV team, ushers, and church care ministers. I especially want to highlight Clare D’Agostino and her art & environment team who worked hard to convert the church in a matter of hours from the 4th Sunday of Advent to Christmas! Additionally, a very special shout out to Jurgen Krehnke, Tim Peterson, Attracta Lee and their AV ministers who are learning a new system and kept us livestreaming and sounding awesome. Thank you to all staff members who ensured we met all the needs of the parishioners especially with so many funerals over the last few weeks.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan