Christmas Schedule 2021

Dear Friends,

As we move through Advent toward the celebration of the Lord's birth at Christmas, I invite you to reflect on how Jesus has been close to you this past year and the light He brings into our lives.

The presence of Jesus brings light that helps us see ourselves and others in a new way, as children of God. May the newborn Christ Child bring you and your loved ones the light you need to discover again the love and peace that are His gifts to us.

In our Lord,
Father Matthew Kowalski


 

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,

Advent 2021: As we begin this special season of preparaon, I always have mixed feelings. I know I will be very busy for the next few weeks, culminating in a hectic Christmas schedule. But it stll is a season of happiness and anticipation, a season most of us look forward to. Last year, Advent saw our churches in the midst of rather severe capacity limits and safety rules. I hope this year Advent will bring back our pre-Covid numbers. The Third Week of Advent this year will have extra times for confession in afternoons and evening. Simbang Gabi and the children’s Navity Pageant also return to the Advent calendar. I am still trying to schedule an evening of Eucharistic Adoration in December, but the evenings are filling up very quickly. I wish all of you a happy and holy Advent season!

Dealing with Worldly Power: Writing about Christ the King last week, I mentioned how we believe God’s authority is higher than any human power. This includes our government, or any other nations government. All governments are based on human authority, which can be right or wrong. But God is always right, always holy, always just. A nation with good laws will find itself in harmony with the Natural Law created by God. In the opposite case, a nation with unjust laws will find itself in conflict with God’s law.

There has been much discussion among our national council of bishops about Catholic politicians who promote abortion rights, or other issues against the Church’s teaching. The question of what actions the bishops should take may be complicated by a number of factors. But the principle of the matter is very clear: any Catholics who knowingly persevere in gravely sinful matters should not present themselves to receive Holy Communion.

In light of God’s authority, I can only wonder about the state of Illinois’ recent removal of parental notifiction for minors seeking abortions. Illinois passed a law requiring parental notice some years ago, and it withstood a number of legal challenges. I can see no reason for removing what was a simple way of protecting underage women. Under the new law, a teenage girl who is pregnant can be coerced into having an abortion by any adult with influence over her, and her parents will not even be informed. This is exactly the situation that sex traffickers would like. Illinois is already an “abortion magnet” for women from neighboring states, and this will only increase such traffic. I don’t see how this benefits anyone except the abortion providers themselves.

God bless you all, 

Fr. Mathew