Advent and Christmas 2011
Advent Greetings! Christmas Blessings! Epiphany Hopes!

To: All Members of the St. Kevin Parish Community

From: Father Norman Bordage, CSC Father Vijay Amirtharaj, CSC and Father James Mulligan, CSC

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord! Some will recognize this exhortation as one of the formulas in the new translation of the Mass for sending people out of the church and back into the culture at the end of the celebration of the Eucharist. The priest will say: Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. The people will respond: Thanks be to God.

ln Luke's Gospel this is exactly what the shepherds did after their experience with the holy family at the stable in Bethlehem. When the shepherds saw Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger they made known what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

More and more in a culture that is very challenging and at a time when traditional Christian values and morals seem to be disappearing, every Catholic by one's baptism is commissioned to go and announce the Gospel. The Gospel is the Good News that the birth of Jesus Christ has made a difference, does make a difference and always will make a difference in our world and in each and every person in the world. Christmas and experiencing once again Jesus' birth brings us face to face with the Gospel, up close and personal with the Good News we are called to announce.

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life! This is another beautiful exhortation in the revised translation of the Mass that the priest may use in sending people out at the end of Mass. This exhortation captures what it is to announce the Gospel. lt is to do so through our wordless witness, by the joy that shines through in our everyday living, in the hope that we convey in our attitudes and outlook on life, by the values we live by, and in the compassion and gentleness we show in our relationships and the reverence we have for the very young and the very old, for the weak and for the poor, for neighbours close by and far away.

Christ needs us today. The people in our world need us today. This prayer of the Christian community articulates ever so eloquently how Christ needs us and wants to use us. To live this prayer is to announce the Gospel; it is to glorify the Lord by our life.

Christ does not have hands.
He has only our hands to do his work, today.

Christ does not have feet.
He has only our feet to go towards others, today.

Christ does not have a mouth.
He has only our mouths to proclaim his Gospel, today.

We are the Bible which humanity still reads.
We are the call of God, written in words and works.

This Christmas-time 2011, by the intercession of the
Holy Family of Nazareth, we pray to the Lord
to teach us to be the Good News in the world of today. Amen

As the priest leaders of St. Kevin's Parish, this is our wish and our prayer for all of the members of our parish – that each person might become more aware of how to announce the Gospel of the Lord – each one in her unique or in his very particular way through the gifts and blessings the Lord gives to each one. Our wish and our prayer is that we all might grow in glorifying the Lord with our lives.

To announce the Gospel and to glorify the Lord with our lives we need food for the journey. We want to take the occasion of this Advent – Christmas letter to remind you that St. Kevin's is your spiritual home. That challenging environment that is our culture is not all that gospel-friendly. lt is not easy to be a Catholic Christian these days. The culture can wear us down. Without the sustenance that comes from prayer and worship, from community and Sunday Eucharist, one's faith and spiritual life are easily weakened. The purpose of the St. Kevin's Parish Community is to feed and nourish the spiritual life and to reinforce one's faith. We are here for you. We are here for your family.

As the priest leaders of St. Kevin's Parish, we invite and encourage you to join us for our liturgy of reconciliation on the Monday evening before Christmas and for the beautiful Eucharistic liturgies that take place here at St. Kevin's over the Christmas season, beginning with Christmas Eve. [Please note the detailed schedule on the next page.] Our community worship here is a great gift. lt is real food for the soul and sustenance for us on the journey as we strive to be that Bible which humanity still reads.

As always, we assure you of the solidarity of our prayer as you go about the holy work of announcing the Gospel and glorifying the Lord with your lives! And as we pray for you, we ask that you pray for us!

Sincerely in Our Brother Jesus,

Father Norm, CSC Father Vijay, CSC Father Jim, CSC