Dear Friends,
As I sit here composing this letter a week before Christmas, I look outside and see that Palatine, Illinois is enjoying sunny skies and 48 degree weather, and as Bing Crosby once warbled, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!” … except here! Regardless of the weather outside though, the church tells us that Christmas has indeed come, as it does every year! This reality reminds me of what makes Christmas time special: the joining together of people of good will who joyfully celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
The world has great need of this type of witness, as we are constantly confronted with the secularization of Christmas. It seems that what we honor this time each year is becoming more distasteful to a country afraid to offend those who don’t believe in Jesus. All I can say is that here at St. Theresa we will celebrate the birth of Christ with much fanfare and great gusto!
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S T O A L L !
In wishing you a Merry Christmas, I want to offer you my gratitude as well. For those of you who are parishioners, I thank you for all that you do to make this parish the vibrant community it is. If you are a visitor to St. Theresa this day, I appreciate you joining us and adding to the festive quality of our worship. If you are searching for a spiritual home for yourself, I thank you for responding to the call of the Spirit which led you to our church.
I am very proud to be the spiritual leader of St. Theresa Parish. We have accomplished much in this last year. Thanks to your generosity, we have just completed Phase II of our Master Plan and our campus looks like new! Curricular changes at St. Theresa School have prepared us well to educate and form young people for a future life in service of the Church. Our Religious Education program continues to do the same. Our LIFT program engages our teens and gives them a place to call home in the midst of their high school years. Our Parish Pastoral Staff and Parish Pastoral Council continue to look for new ways to welcome people into our parish home and offer them opportunities to form their hearts, minds and souls. New for 2018, we are participating in “Renew My Church” and ALPHA, among other things. Please continue to look to our parish website, bulletin and other vehicles of communication to assist you in feeling more connected to our community of faith.
Please know how happy I am that you are worshiping with us. I know I speak for our ministry leaders and parishioners when I offer this invitation for all who are new to St. Theresa this day: please consider joining this community of faith. The Holy Spirit has called you to celebrate the Eucharist today; perhaps that same Spirit is calling you to a deeper relationship with him in this family of people we call St. Theresa Parish.
Please also know you are all in my thoughts and prayers as we gather to give glory to God in the highest and honor the entrance of God in our lives through the birth of His Son Jesus – a birth that reminds us God will never be far from us:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Merry Christmas once again and God bless you all!
Love,
Fr. Tim