Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 12.19.25
Dear brothers and sisters of our beloved parish,
We hope you’ll join us tonight for our annual Christmas Candlelight Concert tonight at 7:30 pm. This year’s performance will include George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, Part 1 and special holiday music, featuring The Transfiguration Choir of Men and Boys & Girls with Period Instrument Chamber Orchestra; soloists, Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Christine Browne-Munz, Santiago Vargas Machado, tenor, Peter Stewart, baritone, Dominick Matsko, baritone; Christopher Creaghan, organ soloist; Claudia Dumschat, conductor. Tickets are $30 for General Admission Tickets, $20 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online here.
Our choir parents will be holding a bake sale and raffle at tonight’s concert. Please make sure to stop by their table, as all proceeds will support our choir program.
On this fourth and last Sunday of Advent, we turn to Blessed Mary to conclude our preparation for the Christmas celebration. And this year, she is joined by Blessed Joseph in St. Matthew’s version of the Christmas story. In our Gospel passage (Matthew 11:2-11), Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream and informed that the Child to be born was of the Holy Spirit and that he was to be named Jesus.
In the sermon, I hope to honor Blessed Mary and the person of Joseph, who is often overlooked and forgotten in Christian history. Only in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do we learn what little we know of Joseph, and how dear the combined faiths of Mary and Joseph, who teach us still about our own faith lives.
We will have a special coffee hour this Sunday filled with baked goods prepared by parishioners. What a lovely way to conclude the beautiful and significant season of Advent!
We will celebrate our monthly Spanish mass this Sunday, December 21 at 5:00pm in the Family Chapel. Mother Anahi Galante will be our guest celebrant and preacher.
Click here to review the Christmas mass schedule.
Each Christmas season, our church is filled with beautiful flowers and with special music for the season. Many members of our parish generously help cover the costs. If you are able and wish to contribute, please use the envelopes in the back of the church or write "Music" or "Flowers" on your check. You can use our e-giving sites here, or you can also text 914-685-9200 with any amount and the keywords of “flowers” or "music" to give to each fund. (i.e $20 flowers or $20 music). If the gift is in memoriam, please write the name(s) legibly on the envelope, use the special instructions box online or send the name(s) via email arishoffice@littlechurch.org by this Sunday, December 21 in order to be included in the Christmas bulletins. Please note that the bulletins will be going to our entire email list, so please edit your names as you would prefer to see them displayed.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the luminous mysteries.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please email the parish office if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren