Christmas Celebration

The Christmas Celebration Continues...

• The Christmas season extends from Evening Prayer of December 24 through the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Monday, January 9, 2023.
• On Christmas Day, all genuflect during the words of the Creed "and by the Holy Spirit...became man."
• The Feast of the Holy Family, usually celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas, is observed this year on Friday, December 30.
• The Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany is celebrated on Sunday, January 8, 2023.
• Ordinary Time begins on Tuesday, January 10, and continues until Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

Our celebration of Christmas continues through the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, this year observed on Monday, January 8. During these days, the liturgy enfolds for us various aspects and truths of the mystery of the Lord's Incarnation and Nativity. There are also Memorials that are celebrated within this period:

January 2
SS Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

These Bishops and Doctors of the Church lived in Asia Minor during the 4th century. Basil was a great foe of Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. Gregory was a scholar of Sacred Scriptures and was an outstanding preacher.

January 3
The Most Holy Name of Jesus

This is a memorial that was restored to the Roman Calendar in 2002. It is meant to focus our attention on the sacred nature and power of the name of our Savior. Devotion to the name of Jesus was promoted by St. Bernadine of Siena.

January 4
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Born in New York City in 1774 of a prominent Episcopalian family, Elizabeth married William Seton and reared five children. Her conversion to Catholicism following the death of her husband caused many of her family and friends to snub her. She founded a Catholic School in Baltimore and established a religious community in Emmitsburg, Maryland. She died on this day in 1821.

January 5
St. John Neumann

A native of Bohemia, John Neumann came to the US with a desire to exercise his priestly ministry in the missions. He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and after laboring in various parts of the country was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia, where he established schools and numerous parishes with particular care for immigrants. He also established the custom of the 40 hours devotion. He died in 1860.

January 6
St. André Bessette

A Brother of the Holy Cross, André became known as the Miracle Man of Montreal, where he founded the Oratory of St. Joseph. He was beloved for his special care of the sick and poor.

Sunday, January 8
The Epiphany of the Lord

This feast celebrates the Lord's manifestation (epiphany) to the Gentile World in the persons of the Magi. The account is found in Matthew 2: 1–12. Tradition gives the Magi, or Wise Men, the names of Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior.