Christmas 2023 at Santa Rita Abbey

Christmas 2023 at Santa Rita Abbey

2023 Journal
Who can contemplate
Eternity being born,
Power itself failing,
Bread going hungry,
the Spring itself growing thirsty,
without becoming speechless?
But who can contemplate
the beginning of our salvation,
the day of human healing,
without bursting forth
in a voice of exultation and praise,
the sound of one keeping festival?
God has been made a man;
who knows how to speak about that?
Our Jesus,
our Savior,
our joy,
comes among us;
who can keep silent?
And if we can neither keep silence nor speak,
what can we do except rejoice?
Therefore, let us rejoice in God our salvation!

Midnight Mass. Sr. Hildegard proclaimed the first reading.

Sr. Sharon proclaimed the second.

At the offertory: Sr. Rita, Fr. Mark, M. Vicki and Sr. Esther.

“For in the mystery of the Word made flesh a new light of your glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that, as we recognize in him God made visible, we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible.”

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright …

As is his custom, Bishop Edward Weisenburger celebrated the Mass of Christmas Day with us.

Our annual Christmas Day portrait: our ten Santa Rita Sisters, joined by Sr. Lois Paha, OP (far left, director of formation for our diocese), Bishop Weisenburger (center, bishop of Tucson), Fr. Simon Ityo, VC (far right, our parish priest), and our Advent-Christmas chaplain this year, Fr. Mark Scott, OCSO (second from the right).

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!