Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the solemn dogma defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854. As Our Lady Immaculately Conceived is the patroness of the United States of America, this is a holy day of obligation in the United States.

"As the journey of Advent continues, as we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Christ, John the Baptist's call to conversion sounds out in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and to welcome the Son of God Who comes among us to make divine judgement manifest. The Father, writes St. John the Evangelist, does not judge anyone, but has entrusted the power of judgement to the Son, because He is the Son of man.

Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Nicholas of Myra (d. 346). Not much is known about this 4th century bishop, but that doesn't diminish his popularity around the world, both in the East and West. It is known that Nicholas was born in Lycia in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and died in 352 A.D. as the Bishop of Myra. All the stories that surround Nicholas illustrate that he practiced both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. He was generous, strove to help the poor and disadvantaged, and worked tirelessly to defend the faith. His legends of generosity and a slip of the tongue from other languages has made St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas into today's Santa Claus.

Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Sabbas (439-532), an anchorite who dedicated his life to prayer and manual labor. He is pictured as an abbot with an apple, as he was once tempted to eat an apple outside of the prescribed mealtime, whereupon he vowed never to eat apples again. In Jerusalem he built a famous laura (as oriental monasteries are called), which bears his name. When the Arabs later conquered the Holy City, the monks fled to Rome, where they built a monastery and introduced the veneration of their saint. In the Eastern Church St. Sabbas ranks high in popular devotion; he is distinguished by the titles "God-bearer, the Saint, Citizen of the Holy City, Star of the Desert, Patriarch of Monks."

The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene (676-749), who was a learned theologian who carefully gathered together and transmitted to us the teaching of the Greek Fathers, and is thus one of the most trustworthy witnesses to oriental tradition. He also wrote many liturgical hymns still in use today. St. John Damascene died in 749. Leo XIII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Universal Church.

A top-level Vatican commission ordered by Pope Francis to study the possibility of ordaining female deacons has issued a report that “excludes the possibility” of diaconal ordination for women. But the commission cautions that its conclusion “is not a definitive judgment” on the idea of a female diaconate.

The commission, chaired by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, concluded that Catholic doctrine bars women from priestly ministry, and “if the admission of women to the first degree of Holy Orders were approved, exclusion from the others would become inexplicable.” The group called for the development of new ministries which “could contribute to synergy between men and women.”

The commission—one of three studies of the female diaconate formed by Pope Francis—acknowledged that at times in Church history women have been identified as deacons. But in those cases, the commission concluded after study of the history that these female “deacons” served in charitable work rather than priestly ministry: a distinction that is crucial to the theology of Holy Orders.

The commission’s report—which was presented to Pope Leo in September, but made public on December 4—quotes an earlier study’s conclude: “The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders.”

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), who was born in the castle of Xavier in Navarre, Spain. In 1525 he went to Paris where he met St. Ignatius Loyola and with whom he received Holy Orders in Venice in 1537. In 1540 he was sent to evangelize India. He labored in western India, the island of Ceylon, Malacca, Molucca Islands, island of Mindanao (Philippines), and Japan. In 1552 he started on a voyage to China but died on Sancian Island.

Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Bibiana (died c. 361) who was martyred at Rome under Julian the Apostate around the year 361.

The Roman Martyrology commemorates today the St. Charles Eugène de Foucauld (1858-1916), a French Catholic religious and priest, who lived among the Tuareg in the Sahara in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for the protection of the Tuareg, and is a martyr. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. He was beatified on November 13, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI, and canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022.

For Catholics, the new Liturgical Year commences with the First Sunday of Advent, opening the Advent season. In this new Liturgical Year, the Church not only wishes to indicate the beginning of a period, but the beginning of a renewed commitment to the faith by all those who follow Christ, the Lord. This time of prayer and path of penance that is so powerful, rich and intense, endeavors to give us a renewed impetus to truly welcome the message of the One who was incarnated for us. In fact, the entire Liturgy of the Advent season, will spur us to an awakening in our Christian life and will put us in a ‘vigilant' disposition, to wait for Our Lord Jesus who is coming: