This weekend we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God for the first time. Pope Francis established this new feast day, which will henceforth be observed on the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time each year, to remind us of the importance that God’s Word should have in our lives. Family and personal Bibles will be blessed at all the Masses this weekend, to remind us to make good use of them!

There is an old saying that goes something like this: “People whose Bibles are tattered usually have lives that aren’t!” The point is that people who read their Bibles often, and allow the Word they read to guide them, usually have lives that are well directed. Even when such people encounter the troubles and trials that are part of every human life, they find comfort and strength in reading the Word of God.

“No human being can ever be incompatible with life, not for his age, nor for his health conditions, nor for the quality of his existence.”

Pope Francis spoke those words not long ago. He was speaking of something that we, as Catholics, believe quite deeply – that every human being is sacred, created in the image and likeness of God, and has a God given right to life.

This Wednesday will be the 47th anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, which effectively legalized abortion on demand in our country. The statistics since then are staggering with well over 53 million abortions since that time. While the number of annual abortions has actually declined in recent years for a number of reason, the lives of nearly a million unborn babies are ended this way in our country each year. Add to that the fact that so many other lives are shattered by violence, hunger, and neglect and it is clear that we have much work to do.

This weekend we finally bring the Christmas Season to a close as we remember the Baptism of Jesus. While many of us remember when Epiphany marked the end of this season, the Church – since Vatican II – has extended her celebration of Christmas to today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Ending the Christmas Season with this celebration reminds us that the same Jesus, who was born as a Child in the manger, chose to be baptized and to make baptism one of His holy sacraments.

Last Saturday evening, many members of my family came to the 4:30 Mass at our Church. Afterward, they visited with me in the rectory. I’ve told you before that my family enjoys coming to Mass at our Church – and I thank each of you for making them feel welcome. Gathering with my family made me think of how, at our own Baptism, we became part of Christ’s family – the Church. This is yet another aspect of today’s Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.

I hope everyone’s Christmas was as nice as mine! It was wonderful to see so many people at Mass – especially on Christmas Eve. Celebrating the Solemn Mass at Midnight was the highlight of my Christmas – and I want to thank all those who filled the Church for it! I particularly want to thank the choir for lending a great deal of solemnity to that Mass. It was a fitting celebration of our Savior’s birth.

I also want to make a special mention of the Children’s Nativity Pageant that preceded the packed Mass at 4PM on Christmas Eve. They did a great job telling and acting out the story of Jesus’ birth! Thanks also to all those grown-ups who worked behind the scenes to make the pageant so nice!

After Mass on Christmas I went to my sister Christine’s home for dinner. My mother was there – as were some of my nieces and my nephew. We were joined by some of my sisters in - laws and family friends – all of which made for a great time. I hope you had fun with those close to you this Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I had to write this about a week before Christmas, so I can’t tell you how mine went! Instead, I’ll tell you a little bit about the Christmas Season.

As Catholics we believe that some things are so wonderful that it takes a lot more than a day to celebrate them. Christmas is certainly one of those things! That’s why, as Catholics, we celebrate Christmas for a season which began at Mass on Christmas Eve and will continue through the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism on the Sunday after Epiphany (January 12). While the rest of the world often takes down decorations the day after Christmas, we continue celebrating the birth of our Lord for nearly three weeks! Keeping your trees up and homes decorated is one way to celebrate this season of joy.

I want to begin by thanking all those who took tags and brought gifts for the Giving Tree. Your generosity provided gifts for many children and elderly parishioners and members of our local community. It is a testimony to your charity and faith!

It was great to see our Year of Spiritual Renewal finally culminate in our Consecration to Jesus thru Our Lady of Guadalupe last week. The Mass at the Cathedral, which I had the blessed pleasure to attend, was prayerful and inspiring. As was reciting the Prayer of Consecration with all of you at Holy Mass last weekend.

My prayer is that this consecration will move each one of us to think about how we might truly dedicate ourselves more completely to Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Adoring Him in the Holy Eucharist and serving Him in our poor and suffering neighbors are some ways we can do this for Jesus. Praying the Rosary each day, or perhaps attending and praying the Miraculous Medal Novena on Monday evenings in the chapel, are some ways we can be more dedicated to Our Blessed Mother – and thru her, to Jesus.

This past Thursday, our Bishop consecrated our diocese to the Lord thru our Blessed Mother, Mary, under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This weekend, we will join ourselves to that consecration by saying a special prayer at all our Masses. The prayer is a special consecration to Our Lady.

It is important that, as we move forward, we remember that we are consecrated to our Lord and His holy Mother. To be consecrated means that we belong to Jesus and Mary in a very special – indeed in a sacred – way. We should do our best to live our lives according to Jesus’ teachings and Mary’s example – and help others do the same.

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. In the ‘old’ days, this Sunday was called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete basically means ‘be happy’ or ‘rejoice’. On the surface, we are rejoicing because Christmas is almost here.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as mine! Fr. Wojciech and I watched most of the P’burg – Easton football game on TV together that morning. Then I headed over to my sister Natalie’s home in Hillsborough. Some relatives we don’t see too often, my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Jack, were there along with some cousins from my father’s side of my family. It was great to spend the day with them. My mother was there – of course- and we ate a lot more then we should have!

Next weekend we will consecrate ourselves to our Lord through His Blessed Mother, under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We have been preparing for this all year – and I am excited that it is finally here. Our Bishop will consecrate the whole diocese the evening of December 12th, the actual Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He has asked all our parishes to do the same at all our Masses next weekend, which I am happy to do.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Bulletin deadlines required me to write this column before Thanksgiving, so I can’t tell you how mine went. I can tell you that I was looking forward to it as I wrote these words!

Today we begin the holy season of Advent. While it’s easy to think of Advent as a time to prepare for Christmas, it’s really much more than that. The word Advent means ‘coming’ – and Advent is indeed a time to get ready for the coming of Christ.

As Catholics, Advent makes us think about not just one – but two – of Christ’s comings. While we are certainly getting ready to celebrate His First Coming at Christmas, Advent also reminds us to get ready for His Second Coming on Judgement Day. Indeed, it is that Second Coming that is the main focus of today’s readings. In the Gospel Jesus tells us to be ready for His Second Coming. He reminds us that we don’t know when it will be – so we should be ready for it all the time.

It was wonderful to see so many people at last week’s celebration of our parish’s 160th anniversary. There was a nice crowd at the 11am Mass – who were treated to the return of our pipe organ. We were also honored by the presence of many religious sisters and three priests who are natives of our parish.

Mercy Hall was packed after Mass with people enjoying a nice continental breakfast. Some artifacts and photos from our parish archives were on display, attracting a great deal of attention. Best of all was seeing so many people – some of whom hadn’t seen each other for some time – having a good time together. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

I am so happy to have the opportunity to celebrate the 160th anniversary of our parish with you this weekend. Our celebration makes me think of all the people who made this parish their spiritual home over the years. It boggles the mind to think of all the people who were Baptized, married, received First Communion and Confirmation or just stopped in to say a prayer over the years.

When I arrived in St. Philip and St. James in 2009, the parish was in the midst of celebrating her 150th anniversary. At the time, I was surprised to learn that the actual date of the parish’s establishment is not exactly certain! Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley – a nephew of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who was the Catholic Bishop for all of New Jersey – appointed Fr. James Mc Kee the first pastor in 1858. That year marks the earliest known celebration of Holy Mass in P’Burg – in a house on Sitgreaves Street. But it was not until the following year, 1859 that the land on which the Church now stands was purchased by the parish.

I’d like to start my words today by wishing a very Happy Veterans Day to all the veterans of our parish. We owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude and appreciate the sacrifices you made for our nation. I assure you of my prayers today and each and every day.

In our troubled world, I find that I appreciate our veterans more and more. Perhaps you do too. My experience with veterans over the years is that they tend to be level headed and ready to help at a moment’s notice. I see this in many of the veterans I know in our own parish. For this also I want to thank these fine men and women.

You may notice our ushers counting the crowds at the Mass this month. The reason is that our bishop asks that each parish conduct such a count at every Sunday (and Saturday evening) Mass during the month of November. The diocese uses this information for a number of reasons, such as deciding how many priests to assign a certain parish. It is also a measure of a parish’s vitality. (P.S. That being the case, this would be a good month to make sure we all get to Mass regularly!)

Today’s Gospel is about Zacchaeus – a short man who climbed a tree to see Jesus. His efforts to see Jesus make me think about my call to the priesthood. A priest – among other things – is a man sent by God to help people see Jesus.

While every Christian should help others see Jesus, a priest must do this in some very special ways. By his preaching, the priest helps people see Jesus’ message more clearly. By his willingness to sacrifice marriage and family for the service of the Church, the priest helps people see Jesus’ sacrifice. Most of all, a priest helps people see Jesus’ mercy in Confession and His continued presence among us in the Holy Eucharist – under the appearance of bread and wine. Indeed, every priest has a sacred duty to do his best – in spite of his human limitations – to help people see Jesus Christ.