Church Teaching

This is my final article on the seven signs of a vibrant Catholic parish. I believe that parishes are Alive in Christ when: 1) the holy Eucharist and the sacraments are at the center of parish life; 2) they are schools of prayer and spirituality; 3) they hand on the faith to future generations; 4) they reach out beyond parish boundaries; 5) they proclaim the Gospel in action as well as in words; 6) they have collaborative leaders and exercise good stewardship of all God's gifts; and 7) they transform parishioners, making a real difference in the way they live on a daily basis.

Last weekend we celebrated Gaudate Sunday. The Latin word gaudete means rejoice. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us to rejoice always because the Lord is near. Christians should always be filled with joy, but we rejoice in a special way during the Advent and Christmas seasons because the Lord is near.

What do we mean when we say that the Lord is near?

Jesus was born. So what?

We all know the birth of Christ means retailers are happy that their stores are packed in November and December.

But the real reason for Christmas, the Incarnation — the Son of God being conceived in the womb of Mary as true God and true man — had moral and ethical dimensions and consequences for those who inhabit the world.

Redemptorist Father Donnell Kirchner, who has a degree in moral theology at the Alphonsian Academia in Rome and taught for many years in Brazil, lists nine of these differences that resulted from Christ’s birth.

VATICAN CITY — Despite their human weaknesses, priests bring the saving power of Christ to the faithful through the sacraments and the word of God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“The Eucharist is an extraordinary gift of love that God continually renews in us to nourish our journey of faith, reinvigorate our hope and arouse our sense of charity in order to become ever more like Him,” he said during his weekly general audience Nov. 24.

In his catechesis, the pope described the life of the 14th-century doctor of the church, St. Catherine of Siena, a Dominican and a “woman of great holiness.”