Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day is only a few days away! Every year Fr. Larry sends out a Christmas message, we wanted to share an excerpt from his Christmas message:



 I know that for some of you, Christmas is a lonely and sad time, but it does not need to be. You need to know that you are never alone.  Jesus is closer to you than your breath; you just need to stop and recognize Him.  Take time on Christmas Day to hold the Christ child in your arms, and look at Him while He trusts you to hold Him, and experience the Love of the God of the Universe!  Christmas is the time when He proves He loves us by being one of us. Thank Him.

My best memory of Christmas was in my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  I was in my early teens, and my family was not very religious at all, but I decided to go to Midnight Mass by myself at our parish of St. Ambrose on the North Side.  I did not get there until 10 minutes to midnight, and, if you remember in those days, Midnight Mass was THE Mass of Christmas, and, of course, it was so full that there was no room in the Church.  So I squeezed in and stood the whole Mass at the door of the vestibule of the Church.  I remember that they started to sing Silent Night, and it was the first time that it hit me, that Jesus Christ was born for me!  This is what Christmas is about, that the God who the Universe cannot contain was born to save us from our sins, as we read in the first chapter of Matthew's Gospel.  He came to save YOU from your sins - Rejoice!

Please know that this Christmas season I am so very grateful for you and your love and support.  Know that I do pray for you every day and that this Christmas you will be remembered in all the Masses that I celebrate, especially this Christmas Midnight Mass.

We at The Reason for Our Hope Foundation wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless you all in 2017!

-Caitlin Rydberg, Marketing/Operations Coordinator