January 18, 2026

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Over the next few weeks, you may notice something a bit unusual in the church: we’re keeping our Nativity up until February 2nd. And it’s not just because we like how it looks! In much of the world, it’s customary to keep the Nativity scene from Christmas (the celebration of the Lord’s birth on December 25th) to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in his Temple (February 2nd). The idea is that we spend the month of January in the company of the Holy Family, reflecting on the hidden years of life and grace together. We have another grace within our parish family. For those who haven’t yet met him, we recently welcomed Deacon John Gardiner to our parish. He just finished up seminary studies, and he will be ordained a priest on May 30 of this year. His time among us is intended to let him transition from an academic environment to parish ministry before the added stress of being a priest is placed on him. Be sure to introduce yourselves and give him a warm welcome to our family of faith. With Dcn John’s arrival, we will once again be growing out our weekday liturgy schedule. For those who would like to participate in the Eucharist daily, we will be adding a Communion Service on Mondays at 9am (the usual daily Mass time). Be on the look-out for other tweaks to our parish rhythm as we grow and learn! Through the grace of the Holy Family, may the Lord pour out his abundant blessings upon us in this New Year, in union with St. Francis and our patron St. Thomas. God bless,

Father Jantz