-
December 15, 2025As you may have heard, our Sacred Heart School Principal, Sue Eldridge, has announced her retirement at the end of this 25/26 school year. For thirteen plus years she has served our school and parish as the administrator, guiding the teachers and staff, students and families, seeking a Catholic-Christian learning environment. Prior to her responsibilities as our principal Sue taught in the classroom, a chosen profession, vocation if you will, that has impacted many, young and old alike. We are grateful for her service through the years, and the faith she and her husband share within our parish. Our search process will begin after the Holy Days. If you have questions or interested in the position (with the expected educational qualifications and Catholic faith) please contact me at the parish office.Our third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, offers us the theme of ‘joy.’As the Latin word, Gaudete, stands for: rejoice for we are halfway —so to speak—to the culmination and celebration of the Lord’s birth. Not just happiness in what we intend to share this Christmas, what we may have received or the excitement of the approaching holy day. As the late priest and spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen differentiates, happiness is dependent on external conditions but joy is“the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing—sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death can take that love away.
As one observer of the papacy observed from the moment Pope Leo XIV’s shared his first words as our Shepherd—“Peace be with you”—there was something unmistakable about his presence beyond the solemnity of the moment that he has consistently reflected in his papacy: a smile that reflects a joy that is radiant and hopeful; that which flows from a heart close to Christ.As the observer remarked:“In a world marked by depression, division and disillusionment, that kind joy is revolutionary.”We light the rose colored candle this Sunday, seeking the spirit of joy in our anticipation of the celebration of our Savior’s birth, unencumbered by the negative distractions in the world around us. Thus, a few thoughts about“joy”as the hallmark of Christ’s presence in our soul.“Joy bursts in our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.”(C. S. Lewis)“Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.God loves a cheerful giver. She gives most who gives with joy.”(Mother Teresa)“Confidence brings joy when we let God be God.” (Charles R. Swindoll)“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”(Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”(Mark Twain)“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”(Mark Twain)“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”(Albert Einstein)
“Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” (Mother Teresa)“The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.”(HenryWard Beecher) “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.”(St. Katharine Drexel) “My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feelhas little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”(Russell M. Nelson) “God made us for joy. God is joy, and the joy of living reflects the original joy that God felt in creating us.”(Pope Saint John Paul II) “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”(C.S. Lewis) “These things I have spoken to you, that myjoy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11) God Bless, Fr. TimFYI:“ Being Irish, he had an Abiding sense oftragedy, which sustained him through a temporary Period of Joy”( W. B Yeats)