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Dear Friends,
It gives me great pleasure to greet all of you and all you love with a heartfelt “Merry Christmas!” May the joy and peace which only the newborn Jesus can give fill your hearts and lives, not only on this great feast, but throughout the year. It is true that, if Easter is the most important feast in our liturgical calendar, it is Christmas which is the most joyful, and for us as a community of faith, that celebration of joy has just begun, with a spirit that will overflow into the next three weeks.
I take this opportunity to welcome all of you who have come to celebrate here at Saint Timothy Parish and Saint Bartholomew Parish. We welcome those of you who are guests from out of town or other parishes. It is good to have you with us. We extend a special word of welcome to our college students and other young adults home for the holidays. It is a joy to have you among us. And, of course, we rejoice in those here whose faces we see each week. It is good for all of us to be here together to celebrate the love of God revealed in the gift of the Word Incarnate.
I extend a very big “thank you” to all those who made the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here at Saint Timothy and Saint Bartholomew possible. The perfection that you see and experience is certainly due to the hard work and dedication of everyone and anyone who had a role in our celebration. Those fine people include Francesco Sifoni, Nick Monica, Keith Montero, Jimmy Feathersmith, Tom Weicker, Anne Coneghen, Bill Miller, Barbara Pippet, our choirs and music ministers, our ushers, our readers, our altar servers, our extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, our sacristans, our office staff (with special thanks to Annmarie Haag and Tom Sullivan), and all those who cleaned and helped decorate both of our churches. To all those named above --- as well as to anyone whom I may have forgotten --- please accept my heartfelt thanks for your participation in our marvelous celebration of Christmas.
I would also like to thank all those who participated in our Elf Patrol program this year by donating toys, games, gift cards, and other items for the benefit of families in need, as well as our Giving Tree which benefitted our shut-ins. Your response, as always, was overwhelmingly generous. Your goodness toward those in need certainly pleased God, and made many children and adults happy. Thanks also to Mrs. Annemarie Haag, Mr. Tom Sullivan, and Mrs. Rita Hartley, for coordinating these annual programs, and for the countless ways they assist us throughout the year.
I would like to thank as well so many of you who donated food so that those in need could celebrate the Lord’s birth at their table. I express great gratitude to the members of our Social Ministry Committee, especially Mrs. Cheryl Kirschman, who worked hard, not only in this Christmas season but also at Thanksgiving, in the coordinating of this effort for those who were the grateful recipients. It is this committee that continues the great work of Sister Bea McElrone among those who are most in need. The members of this committee work hard, not just during this holiday season, but throughout the year, in ministering to our sisters and brothers who are less fortunate.
Thanks also to all of you who gifted us with cards, presents, baked goods, and other treats during this Christmas season. Your generosity is truly heartwarming! On behalf of the rectory staff, Father Lane, Father Noone, Ralphie, and myself, I offer you our sincere gratitude for your kindness to us.
I think it is important for us to remember that our celebration of Christmas has just begun. We ended the season of Advent and began the season of Christmas at nightfall on Christmas Eve, and our celebration this year will extend all the way to January 9th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The secular world often ends their Christmas celebration on New Year’s Day (the Christmas carols on the radio stations mostly end the day after Christmas!), especially since many begin to celebrate even before Thanksgiving. As good Catholic Christians it is important for us to remember that our celebration of this great mystery is not a day but a season, and so the celebration has only begun! Let’s be sure to make the most of these grace-filled and beautiful days. Why not leave your Christmas tree and decorations up a bit longer than usual this year (maybe even until January 9th!)?
We celebrate next weekend New Year’s, which for us Catholics is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. How appropriate that we take this first day of the new year to honor the one who brought the Word-made-Flesh into being by her very “yes” to God. Even though many of you already have them, Church calendars are still available this weekend. Please take one home with you. Many thanks to our good friends from Petner Funeral Home and McCafferty-Sweeney-Slabinski-Barnes Funeral Homes for underwriting the cost of these calendars for us this year.
Please note that our New Year’s Mass schedule is the regular Sunday schedule: Saint Timothy’s: Saturday, December 31st at 4:30 P.M., and Sunday, January 1st at 6:30, 9:15 A.M. and 12:00 NOON; Saint Bartholomew’s: Saturday, December 31st at 4:00 P.M. and Sunday, January 1st at 10:00 A.M. There WILL be confessions, as usual, on Saturday, December 31st.
I want to alert you to a special Mass we will be having at Saint Timothy’s this coming Wednesday, December 28th, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, at 7:00 P.M. In conjunction with the Philadelphia Police Department, we will be celebrating a special Mass of the Angels in memory of Joseph Augustus Zarelli, the “Boy in the Box” whose identity was recently discovered. We will be offering this Mass not only for little Joseph, but also for the police officers and detectives, who, through the years, have worked so hard to solve this case and to bring peace and justice to the life and death of this innocent little boy. Please join us this Wednesday evening at 7:00.
Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.
Love and prayers,
Father Olivere