Merry Christmas and Thank You for Being a Blessing to Our Parish

by Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.  |  12/21/2025  |  Weekly Reflection

Beloved Parishioners,

As we gradually approach Christmas and as well come to the end of the year 2025, I say Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

As a community of faith, you have been the most amazing community to work with. You come into the church filled with hope and your face express the love you have for God.

Your sense of deep reverence for the sacred especially the Blessed Sacrament and First Friday Eucharistic Adoration need to be commended. The confession lines are long each week expressing people who desire God sincerely from their heart and want to reconcile with him and with their fellow human being for a better relationship with God. It is very encouraging to see the response of many of you whenever an invitation is sent out for any spiritual event. A community of faith such as ours is marked by her member’s attendance to spiritual programs and I will say that our parish has not been lacking at that. It is for all this that I want to say to you during this period of Christmas thank you and thank you again. May the newborn Jesus bring you many blessings.

I thank you for all your support during the year. In various ways you have manifested unalloyed support to the progress and growth of the parish. The parish has been kept going because many of you make extra sacrifices to donate to the various projects we do in the parish. If not, the many sacrifices you make would have been difficult for us to fulfill some of the things we have to do.

As we celebrate this Christmas, I pray for each of you and your family, your loved ones and those you have in your heart. Christmas is a joyful celebration because a savior is born for us; God Immanuel is with us. Christmas is joyful because God’s love is shown to us in the baby Jesus before us. It gives us the opportunity to have a little reunion with some family members and loved ones. Christmas is joyful because we look forward to a new year with hope. Christmas is a joyful celebration as we use the occasion to get little new things for ourselves. Christmas is joyful because we share gifts with many people. The exchange of gifts brings to the realization that we are not alone in this world.

Beloved parishioners, as you prepare to celebrate this joyful period, I ask that you do it with faith knowing that God is with you and loves you. May you not be caught up with consumerism which the social media and stores present to us. May the celebration bring you closer to appreciate God’s love for you. Once again, thanks very much for being a member of our parish.