The nativity scene at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro is seen on Dec. 29, 2024. RACHEL HALL | WKC
Advent, Christmas season provide many ways to celebrate Christ’s love
My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In December it seems that Christmas is about all we think about and all we prepare for. That’s not a bad thing – so long as we do keep before us that it is not all about decorating and baking and Santa Claus. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season.
In the Church we pack a lot of very important observances in the month of December. The spiritual observance of Advent is essential to the proper celebration of the birth of Jesus.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed on December 8, celebrating that Mary was conceived without sin so as to be the bearer of the Word made flesh. Under this title Mary is seen as the Patroness of the United States.
The feast of our Lady of Guadalupe follows just four days later on December 12. This feast recalls the apparition of Mary to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531. Pope Pius XII declared that with this title Mary is the Patroness of all the Americas. And the feast is celebrated across both North and South America.
On Christmas we celebrate the Nativity of the Lord. This initiates 12 days of Christmas, and that concept predates any songs about a partridge in a pear tree or golden rings.
The real 12 days of Christmas are the days from Christmas to January 6, the Solemnity of Epiphany. And within these 12 days we celebrate several associated feasts.
The feast of St. Stephen comes on December 26. St. Stephen is recognized as the first martyr to die for his allegiance to Jesus. This is the patronal feast of the Diocese of Owensboro and thus our cathedral is dedicated to St. Stephen. The celebration of the first Christian martyr on the day after Christmas is instructive of those who follow Jesus.
The feast of St. John the Apostle is observed on December 27. John is often referred to as the “apostle that Jesus loved” – in recognition of his singular faithfulness in following Jesus all the way to the cross at Calvary.
December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, though its observance is interrupted as it falls on a Sunday this year. It is a proper time recall innocent young lives lost to abortion, hunger and violence.
The Sunday that falls between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a celebration of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The virtues exemplified by the Holy Family are virtues that still ground healthy and holy families. Just days before New Year’s, perhaps some will be considering New Year’s resolutions. Could there be resolutions we might make to strengthen our families?
A central and essential character of our Christmas story is, of course, Mary. On January 1, the Church venerates her under the title of Mother of God and this feast is a Holy Day of Obligation in our tradition.
The 12th day of Christmas is traditionally January 6 and seen as the Epiphany of the Lord. The Church, however, transfers this feast to the first Sunday of January to invite fuller participation of the faithful in this manifestation of Christ to the whole world.
Four weeks of Advent plus 12 days of Christmas! We can choose so many ways of celebrating the Word made flesh in these extraordinary feasts during this season.
Merry Christmas,
Most Reverend William F. Medley
Diocese of Owensboro
Originally printed in the December 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
