St. Agnes Catholic Church December 27/28, 2025 Feast of the Holy Family https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122825.cfm Happy 3rd / 4th Day of Christmas, and happy Feast of the Holy Family. Despite our lovely Christmas carols and our beautiful nativity scenes, the little town of Bethlehem would not sleep in heavenly peace for long. We sing together with the angels, “peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!" But the reality is that the powers of the world recognized Jesus, not as Lord at his birth, but as a threat to their rule. From his hilltop fortress three miles from Bethlehem, King Herod looked down on royal David’s city and did not plan to come and adore Jesus. Instead, the old dictator, who was in his mid-seventies and was wracked with illness, became increasingly desperate to cling to power. He hatched a plan to massacre every boy two years old and younger in Bethlehem and its vicinity. ...
These posts are the collected homilies of Deacon Ned Berghausen, permanent deacon of the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, assigned to St. Agnes Catholic Church. The title "Foot Washer" refers to the Last Supper (John 13:1-20) in which Jesus washed the feet of the apostles and challenged them, "“Do you realize what I have done for you? If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow."