This Wednesday, December 8th, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a holy day of obligation & the Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America. We will have an all school Mass at 8:30am and a Mass at 7pm. Please be sure to attend one of these 2 Masses or to join us via livestream.
Congratulations to Ryan & Melissa McNamara on the baptism of their son, Daxton, which took place on November 27th. May Daxton live the faith his parents profess and practice themselves and so know happiness in this life and eternal joy in the life to come. Catholic Federal Credit Union gifted St. Leo’s with $150 as part of their Giving Back Auto Loan program. They started this program in 2014 and give us $50 for every parishioner who finances a car through them. We had three parish members mention St. Leo’s when getting their loans so we thank them for their support.
We now have 40 people signed up for our pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May of 2022! The 30 person group limit was raised to 40 and may be raised again so if you are considering this opportunity, you may want to get signed up as soon as possible, even if that means being on a waiting list. I am really looking forward to this experience and recently heard from a couple of people who were just there & they were so glad to have had the opportunity to be there. Let me know if you have any questions about this trip.
Christmas this year falls on a Saturday so I thought I would let you know in advance our liturgy schedule for this feast which is now only 3 weeks away. We will have a 4pm Mass on Christmas Eve which will be on Friday, December 24th. On Saturday, Christmas Day, Mass will be at 8 and 11am. Though we also had a 7pm and 10pm Mass on Christmas Eve in years past, I don’t believe these will be necessary given the continued lower number of people coming to church due to COVID. Many people are still participating in weekly Mass via livestream, and while I am happy that many are taking advantage of that opportunity, I ask you to consider whether that continues to be a necessity for you. It is far better to be physically in the church for the sacred liturgy, most especially so that you can receive Holy Communion which is the climax of this solemn prayer. But it is also very important to be with your fellow parishioners and to join the Catholic Community in person. While some still have good reason to avoid being around others due to the risk of COVID because of advanced age or serious health issues, I wonder if others are becoming too accustomed to “watching” Mass at home due to convenience. I invite you to prayerfully and seriously consider this personal decision & to return to Mass in the church, especially if you have been vaccinated and your current health situation does not pose a great risk for you. As the pandemic lingers, we still encourage but do not mandate the wearing of a mask to cover your nose and mouth (& masks are always available at the doors of the church). We hope that by Christmas, the vast majority of parishioners will be physically present in the church to receive the Eucharistic Sacrament and to be reunited once again with fellow Catholics as we pray the Mass together & in person.