{"id":10834,"date":"2019-12-18T10:26:51","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T15:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/?p=10834"},"modified":"2023-11-06T17:50:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T17:50:00","slug":"bishops-blog-approaching-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/es\/bishops-blog\/bishops-blog-approaching-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Approaching Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christmas is Nearly Here<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With only a week until we celebrate the joyous occasion of our Lord\u2019s birth, I am sure you are all very busy with your preparations. Please know of my prayers for each and every one of you, especially for those who will find their day marked with some sorrow. <\/span><\/span>
\nThe overarching message of Christmas is hope. In both my Advent and Christmas messages, you will find encouragement to hold onto the hope Christ\u2019s birth brings to us all. Remember, my brothers and sisters in Christ, December 25th marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Let us enjoy the blessings of the season for the entire <\/span>octave of Christmas<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> <\/span>
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Bishop da Cunha Celebrates Mass with Taunton Catholic Schools, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Annual Christmas Message<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Christmas custom of presenting the diocese with a Christmas message is one I look forward to each year.  This year, I included words from the Gospel of St. John to contemplate and consider in light of the context of Christmas.  I invite you to take the remaining days of Advent to prepare your heart for Christmas.<\/span>
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The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. ~ John 1:14<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ~ John 3:16-17<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, I would like to share these words from my 2019 Christmas message, <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf we think of the time and place Jesus came, those weren\u2019t much better than our time and place. Darkness, doubt, confusion, violence, and wars were all around. It was exactly to that situation that God sent Jesus to bring light and peace. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we celebrate Jesus\u2019 coming this Christmas, let us pause to reflect, remember and recognize that He comes in the midst of all this brokenness, darkness, confusion and sin, to rescue us. He did just that in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago and He still does it today, if only we open our hearts to welcome Him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 <\/b>I invite you to <\/span>read my 2019 Christmas message<\/span><\/a> in its entirety in the Anchor newspaper, in your church bulletin, or on the Fall River Diocese website. <\/span>
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One of my favorite Christmas traditions is <\/span>preparing the Christmas Manger<\/span><\/a>. I remember, as a child, how my family would join all of us to prepare the manger at our home. We’d keep it out through the Christmas Season, which ends with the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus<\/a>. When I was Pastor in New Jersey, I also used to spend considerable time with parish volunteers putting together the manger, which we created to look like a real cave-manger representing the poor and simple place where Jesus was born.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas Mass Schedule<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is always a great privilege to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass, not only at the Cathedral but at parishes around the diocese. This year my Christmas schedule is:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n