When I was first asked to become a pastor back in 1996, I was very hesitant to do so. I had been a priest for about 9 years and loved being a priest. But I was afraid that becoming a pastor – and taking on all the administrative and managerial tasks that are part of running a parish – would give me less time for more spiritual parts of the priesthood that I enjoyed so very much.

Bishop Edward Hughes, of blessed memory, gave me some very good advice. He told me that the best way to avoid that was to make sure I kept doing the things I loved about being a priest. I knew that he meant what he said, because even when he was our bishop, he used to teach 8th grade religion at the cathedral's parish school.

Many people are surprised to learn that my favorite pope of recent times is the retired pope, Pope Benedict XVI. Having said that, let me say unequivocally that I do not think that popes should be the subject of popularity contests! But we all find different people more or less to our liking for any number of reasons.

My personal reasons for finding Pope Benedict so likeable has a lot to do with the many books he authored – especially his series "Jesus of Nazareth" in which he offered an almost line-by-line reflection on the Gospel. My sister, Christine, read one of these books and told me it did a great deal to deepen her faith. I also was deeply affected by the humility Pope Benedict showed when he retired, believing the Church needed a younger and healthier leader at the time.

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 a whole lot of my family came to the 4:30 Mass at our Church. Afterward they visited with me and the other priests 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! The choir also deserves thanks for leading us in song and lending a great deal of solemnity to that Mass. It was a fitting celebration of our Savior's birth. I also want to make special mention of the Children's Nativity Pageant that preceded the packed Mass at 4 PM 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!

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 13). While the rest of the world – especially department stores – start taking 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 some 200 children – and many elderly parishioners, too. It is a testimony to your charity and faith!

Thanks also to the Boy Scouts, who kept moving the gifts to Mercy Hall for safekeeping all weekend. Their efforts ensured that the many gifts did not start blocking the aisles and become a hazard! It is also an example of how many groups and people work together to make good things happen here at St. Philip and St. James!

Last Friday I had a great time at our Parish School's Nativity Pageant. The students told the story of Christ's birth – with lots of beautiful singing. They also acted out scenes like the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, and Epiphany – to name a few. It was a wonderful, joy-filled telling of the holy story of Christmas! Thanks to all who were involved!

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.

On a deeper level, we are rejoicing because Jesus – Who came as our Savior long ago – is coming again to bring us to the fullness of His Kingdom. In spite of all the troubles in our world, we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Christ and His Eternal Kingdom of Peace and Justice.

I want to thank all those who took tags from the Giving Tree and purchased gifts for poor children. My thanks extend also to those who took tags for senior citizens and those who made cash donations. Your generosity helps many local families! It also gives evidence of your faith in Jesus – Whom God generously sent to save us from our sins and lead us to Heaven!

After today's 1PM (Spanish) Mass there will be a special celebration in Mercy Hall. It is in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast is December 12. There will be food, music, and lots of fun. Everyone is welcome to join the fun in honor of our Blessed Mother. For those who wish, Fr. Leo will celebrate a special Mass in Spanish on Wednesday, December 12, at 7PM.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as mine. My sister had a really big crowd of family and friends, and it was a lot of fun. I was able to visit with some relatives I don't get to see very often, which was really very nice. The meal was great – of course – and my mom was happy to have so many of us there.

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.

Bulletin deadlines caused me to have to write these words before Thanksgiving – so I cannot yet tell you about mine. I certainly hope that your own was great! I do want to say a special thank you to all those who supported the Thanksgiving Food for the Needy Drive that provided hundreds of dinners for poor families. Whether you donated food, wrote a check, spent time packing, or helped out in some other way – thanks for celebrating this Thanksgiving with a spirit of charity and compassion!

Today, Catholics around the world are celebrating the Solemn Feast of Jesus Christ, the King. It is a day to consider the place that Jesus has in our lives. While we often think of Jesus as our Savior and Lord, today's feast reminds us that He is also our King. The Bible calls Jesus the "King of Kings". This means that everyone, including the "kings" of this world, are ultimately accountable to Him. As we say in the Creed – Sunday after Sunday – "His Kingdom will have no end."

Last week the Church observed the Feast of St. Leo the Great – who was pope between 440 and 461 AD. While he lived a long time ago, his influence on the Church continues right down to our own day. Indeed, he was called "the Great" because of the influence of his homilies and writings, especially about the true nature of Christ.

The Mass is one area where Pope St. Leo's influence touches us quite regularly. He did a number of things to promote the use of good music at Mass, and decreed the singing of the Gloria – which until then was only used at Christmas – at all Sunday Masses except during Advent and Lent. Pope St. Leo did these things to ensure a degree of solemnity at Mass.

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.

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt 4:19). Whenever I hear those words, it takes me back to the days when I realized God was calling me to the priesthood. I was only a boy – maybe 8 years old – the first time the idea came to me. When I told other people – I think they mostly thought it was a cute idea that would fade over time. To be honest, as time went on, other ideas came to my head. But the priesthood was the only one that kept coming back. By age 14, I was convinced that was what God wanted me to do. Looking back, I can say that God was very persistent.

This week is National Vocation Awareness Week. It's a time to make a special effort to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. It's also a time to think about what we can do to encourage young people to think about whether God might be calling them – and to say yes if He is!