Dear Parishioners of Saint Patrick Church,

As we gather to celebrate the glorious birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I want to extend my warmest wishes for a blessed and holy Christmas season. This is my first Christmas serving as your pastor, and I am filled with gratitude and excitement as I share this sacred journey with you.

This year, as we gaze upon the infant child in the manger, let us not just see a beautiful tradition, but an invitation to realize the full potential of growth in our love for Him. Christ’s coming is the ultimate reminder that change is not only necessary but is the very foundation of our faith.

Think about the profound changes this moment represents:
•    CHANGE brought the Christ Child, God becoming man, altering human history forever.
•    CHANGE brought about our faith, calling us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
•    CHANGE brought about forgiveness and reconciliation, redeeming us from sin.
•    CHANGE brought us together, forging this beautiful community of faith and believers here at Saint Patrick.

My brothers and sisters, we must embrace the truth that change is good. To be stuck in the mindset of "how it has always been" sadly limits the profound good that God wants us to accomplish. In our faith life, we are constantly being called to change for the better—to change our attitudes, to change our hearts, and to be open to the new ways God is preparing for us.

We are called to:
•    Change our style of prayer to deepen our devotion.
•    Change our focus from ourselves to the needs of our neighbors.
•    Change our anxieties into a confident hope in the Lord.

Let us commit this Christmas to be open to the CHANGE God has in store for you and me. Let us look forward, not backward, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in renewing and growing our parish life together. This renewal is not an ending; it is a hopeful, necessary beginning!

The birth of Jesus is a proclamation of a new order, a new hope that calls us to become the fullness of what we are meant to be in Him.

I offer you this scripture passage as a reminder that the Christmas gift is a gift of hopeful transformation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” — 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

May the joy of this season fill your homes, and may the promise of the Christ Child inspire you to bravely embrace the positive change and growth He offers to us all.

A Blessed and Merry Christmas,
Fr. Peter Glabik
Pastor of Saint Patrick Church