Dear Faithful Parishioners,

Winter lingers on and, for some people, has over stayed its welcome. Christmas is a faded memory. Most of the holiday decorations have been stored away until next year, except for here at St. Joan of Arc Church. Lent, and certainly Easter, are far too distant to have immediate impact on our psyches. So we are left with this time of February which I have always found an awkward month for all the reasons I noted previously.

Dear Faithful Parishioners,

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for one of the most beautiful and memorable Christmas celebrations I can recall here at St. Joan of Arc Parish. I believe that our Advent initiative, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” was successful in inviting back many parishioners who, for whatever reasons, have been away from Sunday Mass. I pray that everyone will continue to join us at the Sunday liturgy which, the church calls, the source and summit of our faith.

O Jesus, Word made flesh, savior of the world, your life is for us an example of total dedication to your Father and to the work he entrusted to you. Help us to live fully our religious consecration, to spend ourselves completely in your salvific mission to the people of God.

Mary, Mother of God, obtain for us the grace of intimate union with your divine Son and in and through him with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Dear Parishioners,

Today the church keeps the great solemnity of Epiphany, derived from Greek word meaning “manifestation.” Traditionally Epiphany was celebrated on January 6, and was the 12th Day of Christmas. It is perhaps a more ancient festival than Christmas on December 25. It originated in the Eastern sections of the Christian world and commemorated the birth of Jesus, the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus and the miracle of Cana when Jesus transformed water into wine.

Dear Faithful,

On this 8th day of the Christmas Octave, the Church solemnly acclaims Mary as “Mother of God“ (Theotokos in Greek), the most exalted title ever held by a human person. This designation was given to her at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD after long, strenuous debates concerning the identity of Jesus. At this moment in history, there were those who, erroneously, believed that Jesus Christ did not share in the eternal divinity of the Godhead, but rather was adopted as God at some particular moment in time. They argued, therefore, that Mary could not rightfully be called the “Mother of God” but only the “Mother of Christ” since she did not give birth to the eternal God.