Saint Joseph Catholic Church

At his final public audience of 2025, on December 31, Pope Leo XIV looked across at the Jubilee Year and exhorted the faithful to be thankful to God for past blessings and ask the Lord “to renew, in us and around us, in the coming days, the wonders of his grace and mercy.”

The past year, the Pope remarked, has seen memorable days: “Some of them joyful, such as the pilgrimage of so many of the faithful on the occasion of the Holy Year; others painful, such as the passing of the late Pope Francis, and the scenarios of war that continue to convulse the planet.”

Reminding his audience of the traditional singing of the Te Deum on December 31 in thanks for the year’s blessings, the Pope said that the year’s end also is a time for examination of conscience, asking God’s forgiveness for “all the times we have failed to treasure his inspirations and invest the talents he has entrusted to us in the best possible way.”

Reflecting on the pilgrimages that so many Catholics made during the Jubilee Year, the Pope said: “Our whole life is a journey whose final destination transcends space and time.” That journey finds its end “in the encounter with God and in full and eternal communion with Him.”

With that hopeful attitude, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful to join in the thankful praise that marks the year’s end, saying:

God is Love! God loves me! God awaited me, and I have found him! God is mercy! God is forgiveness! God is salvation! God, yes, God is life!

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Today is the Fifth day within the Octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket (1118-1170), bishop and martyr. He was born in London and after studying in Paris, he first became chancellor to the king and then in 1162 was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury. He went from being "a patron of play-actors and a follower of hounds" to being a "shepherd of souls." He absorbed himself in the duties of his new office, defending the rights of the Church against Henry II. This prompted the king to exile him to France for six years. After returning to his homeland he endured many trials and was murdered by agents of the king.

Today is the Fourth Day within the Octave of Christmas. The Feast of the Holy Family is a movable feast, assigned to the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas.