Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our Patronal Feast Day
Our parish celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, January 25, as our feast day. Since it is our parish feast, the celebration is moved to the nearest Sunday, which will be next Sunday January 23. That is also our annual parish Eucharistic Devotions, so we will have time of adoration and Benediction after the Masses.

An Octave and Novena of St. Paul Parish?
A few weeks back I preached about how the church’s liturgy and in particular the liturgical calendar has many layers to it, like a rich tapestry of symbols, theological connections, and ways to meditate on the mystery of the Lord. Major Liturgical feasts are celebrated as an octave (like Christmas and Easter) meaning not only the day, but the whole next week with similar solemnity to emphasize its importance.  Traditionally even Pentecost and Epiphany had octaves.  Now there is no official octave of St. Paul, but there is no reason we can’t treat the days after our Feast with special devotion.  In fact, as I looked at the timing of all this, I noticed that between the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25) and the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Feb 2) there are eight days - nine if you include Jan. 25 as one of the days.  One of the details of the conversion of St. Paul is the Light that appeared and struck him blind.  Hence, we speak often of the Light of Christ.  It shows up in our parish prayer and our parish painting of St. Paul.  We know the importance of how Christ enlightens our minds and hearts.  The Presentation of the Lord on Feb 2 (celebrated in the traditional calendar as the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary”) sure enough has light as one of its main emphatic symbols.  This is why we bless candles on the day and hence it is also called “Candlemas.”  Furthermore, we are still in the cold and often darker time of the winter season, and as I was reminded recently, “Fr. we just need some light, something to bolster us with everything going on in the world - death, cold, dark, and discouragement. We need reminded of the warmth and light of Christ’s love.” I agree, so we need to pray and ask for those gifts from God. 
So here is what I propose - to start a yearly custom of a St. Paul Novena.   Interestingly, as I’ve been reflecting on all this, a person who has a gift for writing prayers (in particular novenas), came to me asking if she could write a “custom made novena” for the parish.  How Providential! 
So next week we will hand out the St. Paul Parish novena to all parishioners.  Our task is to actually pray the novena, which means taking a few extra minutes for the nine days (Jan. 25 - Feb. 2) to pray these specific prayers. If possible, participate at daily Masses as well.  My hope is that this aids us through the tough time of winter and get us ready to continue striving for holiness, because Lent will be here before you know it! 

I am really excited about starting this, which also leads to my sadness that I will be out of town for our novena.  It is not by my deliberate choice.  I am being sent to a 10-day conference in Chicago for continuing education.  The dates are fixed so I have to go at this time.  Even so I will be praying the novena with you all in spirit.

Synod on Synodality Sessions
Thankfully the timetable to conduct our parish “synod listening sessions” has been extended.   We originally had to finish this month, but we are moving the sessions into February.  Over the next few weeks there will be more in the bulletin explaining their purpose and how to participate. 

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Pfr