Monday Message, December 15, 2025
KNOW
Happy third week of Advent. It’s not too late to get the Advent wreath out in case you’ve been too busy.
We will have a brief Parish Leader Check-In this week, but there will be no face-to-face gathering. Details for the check-in are here.
Please remember to have your faith formation families complete the diocesan consent and release. Details here.
We have launched our Institute YouTube page. Could you check it out and bookmark it? We’ve also added Start with Sunday (reflections only), First Witnesses, and more.
Please spread the word about the upcoming Bishop’s Lecture Series and subsequent event with Scott Hahn—details here in English and here in Spanish.
PJD will be out until after the first of the year for vacation. CW will be out until Wednesday. Offices are closed from the 24th through the 5th.
Regional Confirmation retreat in January is nearly at capacity—email Bill for more information.
The Annual Recognition Dinner, initially scheduled for April, has been moved to June 2, 2026.
We have a few boxes of Spanish Bibles left. Let Laura know if you would like them.
QUIZ TIME
Have you seen what we’ve done with Catequizem? Could you check it out here? Not only can you see past day’s quizzes, but now you can build your own, edit it, publish it, and invite others to participate. Creating a quiz in English or Spanish is easy, and you can share the code with anyone and track their progress. Try it out. Test it. Build a quiz. Then let us know what you think.
REFLECT
In Adent, we celebrate hope. We light the candle on our Advent Wreath and focus on the hope of the coming of the child that will save us all.
St. Paul tells us that there are three lasting things: faith, hope, and love. I find it hard to separate hope and faith. When I see one, I see the other. But hope has a character of its own. Hope is not simply an emotion or virtue; it is a way of life.
I had a professor once who told me that hope is an unsatisfactory view of the present, a satisfactory view of the future, and a commitment to change. Absent the commitment, it’s not hope.
It’s whining.
We whine well. We have perfected complaining. We blame. We rationalize. We pout.
But do we hope? Are we committed to making a change in our hearts, our homes, our lives? Do we desire that which we do not have and are we committed to letting God work through us to achieve it? Are we willing to place our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit?
Are we willing to allow hope to stand beside us like a friend, no matter how desperate we might feel, knowing that with the help of the Spirit, life can be better?
Or are we okay with whining?
Have a good week.
LAUGH
