Blessing of Bambino and Opleka

Blessing of Bambino and Opleka at all Masses – December 16 & 17

Traditionally people bring their Christ Child to Church on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent to be blessed for the
coming Christmas Season. Please bring your Baby Jesus from your home nativity scene to any Mass at either St. John or St. Joseph where they will be blessed. Click here to read a letter from the Pope about the importance of having a Nativity scene in the home.

“In front of the crib we discover how important it is for our life, so often frenetic, to find moments of silence and prayer. The silence to behold the beauty of the face of the baby Jesus, the Son of God, born in a lowly stable,” Pope Francis

In many Polish homes throughout the world, a beloved family tradition is the breaking of the oplatki on Christmas Eve, a tradition rich in spiritual symbolism. The oplatki wafer is blessed by a priest and brought home and shared with each member of the family as a way to extend the fruits of the Mass into the home. The oplatki is meant to remind families of the Eucharistic bread at Mass and makes a further connection between Christmas and the gift of the Eucharist, the presence of God among us. Read more here