_ A Warm and Merry Christmas to all! Let this Christmas Message be my Christmas Card to all who read it. May it express my love and esteem for all of you at St. Joseph’s Parish.

   Today we mark, once again, the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today, or tonight, depending on which Mass you will attend, a Child is born to us, which is Christ the Lord.

   A week before Christmas we all were scrambling to buy gifts for our loved ones and finish those Christmas cards to dear friends. This year, as I was preparing the annual Christmas publications for the parish, I spent an evening going through twelve years of photographs from my time at St. Joseph’s. How many beautiful faces and how many precious memories did I uncover! What a grace every day has been! At the end of the year, and I hope at the end of life, we won’t remember the hard times, but we will thank God with undivided hearts for the good times. What a blessing this parish and this life are to me!

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   All of the good memories, and the lasting friendships, are from that small babe lying in a manger, hugging his mother’s arms tight, curling Joseph’s finger in his tiny hands. Let us thank the Good God for such a life as we will ever enjoy. Let us be good stewards of his gifts by recognizing all that He has given us, and thanking him for it. God bless you all for coming to Mass this Christmas, for thanking Him for the gift of Himself in Bethlehem, and in Modesto.