November 23, 2025

Dear friends of Saint Michael Parish, 

As our liturgical year draws to a close this weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This feast does more than conclude a cycle of readings, but truly opens the door for each of us to enter into a new year of holiness in our lives. This is because Christ the King Sunday invites us to step into Advent with purpose, allowing Christ’s reign of mercy and truth to reshape the year ahead. 

In the Gospel of Luke, we hear Jesus speak to the repentant thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” In that moment, we are called to realize anew, that Christ’s kingship is not a rule of power, but a reign of compassion, welcome, and transformation. When we allow His grace to direct our lives, His Kingdom takes deeper root within us. 

At last week’s State of the Parish address, we affirmed who we are now, as a vibrant and welcoming Catholic community; united with Jesus in the Eucharist; blessed beyond measure. Knowing our identity helps clarify our mission to place God first in all things, especially as we enter Advent. This season is a privileged time to let Christ the King gently reorder our priorities and to begin resolutions that can guide us not only through Advent, but well into the coming year. 

We also identified that all of us are called in some way or another to participate in prayer and pastoral care for one another and hope to live out our mission in two concrete ways. First, by deepening our culture of immersion in prayer, personally and as a parish, so that Christ may reign more fully in our hearts, homes, and lives. Second, we echoed a call to unite parish leaders in God’s oneness of pastoral care by working together to distribute leadership among all who desire to manifest the threefold mission of priest, prophet and king with clarity, charity, and co-responsibility for the good of all. 

May this Feast of Christ the King inspire us to welcome Jesus as the true center of our lives—and may our Advent commitments help His peace, His presence, and His love become the new norm for the year to come. 

Sincerely in Christ, 

Fr. John-Patrick