Article by Phoenix writer Grace Andino ’25:
On Sunday, December 24th, Kellenberg held the Christmas Vigil Mass to celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.
Annually, the families of faculty, staff, and students join together on Christmas Eve at Kellenberg to celebrate the coming of Christ. Before the entrance song, “Joy to the World”, the Gregorian Consortium opened with Lessons and Carols and sang renditions of carols like “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?”.
Celebrant Fr. Thomas Cardone S.M. used the homily to highlight the 800th Anniversary of the Nativity by St. Francis of Assisi and explained its powerful symbolism to the lives of Catholics. The images in the Nativity, such as the Nativity Star, The Three Kings, and Baby Jesus, invite us to continue our journey with Christ and set examples of simplicity, littleness, and love– traits crucial for Catholics in a complicated and demanding world.
Father Tom shares, “This year all those who attended the Christmas Mass received a beautiful magnet of Mary, holding the baby Jesus. Underneath the image was the word ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God is with us’. May God be with all the members of the Kellenberg Memorial Family as we begin a New Year!”
The mass ended with a reminder that Christmas is a time of acknowledging what truly matters and called participants to make room in their personal inns for Christ. During a time of year overlooked by materialism, the Christmas Vigil Mass served as a perfect ending to the season of Advent, reminding Catholics of the true meaning of Christmas.