The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (the day in which Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the priests and elders in the Temple) is observed on February 2nd in the Church.

According to Luke’s Gospel, the presentation of Jesus and the purification of the Blessed Mother took place in the Temple on the same day.

According to Jewish law, the firstborn male child belonged to God, and the parents had to “buy him back” on the 40th day after his birth, by offering a sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24) in the temple, thus the “presentation” of the child. On that same day, the mother would be ritually purified, thus the “purification.”

St. Mary and St. Joseph kept this law, even though, since St. Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ, she would not have had to go through ritual purification.

We can observe this feast with our families by:

• reading the Gospel account of the Presentation, Luke 2: 22-38.
• praying the Rosary, focusing on the 4th Joyful Mystery, the Presentation of the Lord.

This is a day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world.

St. Nicholas parishioners are encouraged to bring any candles they would like blessed with them to any Mass this weekend, Feb. 1-2.

Candles blessed on Candlemas are traditionally used for protecting the home and those who reside in it, such as during bad weather, during troubled times, during times of illness, etc.

Candles may also be blessed by request any time throughout the year by a priest.

Please remember, after candles are blessed they are considered sacramentals, so they are not to be disposed of, but rather burned or buried when you are finished using them.

Candles may also be blessed at home using the images below or the printable PDF .

These booklets will be available this weekend, located next to the church bulletins.

Youth and Teens (6th-12th grade/ EDGE & HSYG) are invited to enjoy an evening together on Friday, February 7th, 5:30-8:30pm.

This will be an opportunity for the Youth & Teens to share a meal, complete a service project, and have social time together. Dinner will be provided.

(PLEASE ENSURE ALL YOUTH & TEENS HAVE APPROPRIATE COLD WEATHER ATTIRE IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY.) Use the link below to RSVP by 2/7/25.

On January 3rd we celebrated ONE YEAR of having SNYM First Fridays each month!

We began by sharing a lively dinner together that included celebratory ice cream treats, and making our own edible Ladybugs after learning why the Ladybug is named after Our Lady (see video below).

We then watched the Window to the Womb followed by a slideshow and discussion about how we are called by God to protect the Gift of Life and how we can do that (see video & slides below).

For our service project the Youth & Teens were asked to commit to praying the 9 Days for Life novena, praying for those attending the March for Life, and to share their faith and their commitment by choosing Precious Feet Pins and/ or Pro-Life stickers to display.

We finished our evening with a long-awaited return of Hide & Seek!

See in the SNYM Youth & Teens together for our January First Friday in the last video below!

Special thanks to Shannon & Rob!

We had our first remote class (from the ANC airport with Ms. Beth) and enjoyed a session of Visio Divina about the Holy Family, but we were very sad to say Farewell to Miss Karissa.

We did not have class for Apostle Sunday but were happy to return to the Youth Room last week for Adoration and to begin Lesson 5 of Encounter! (See videos & slides below)

Thanks to Miss Karissa and Mr. Justin for joining us again in EDGE!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our first session of January with Ms. Beth stuck in ANC, but that must extra happy to return to the Youth Room for a Saints Session learning about the Bl. Stanley Rother, beginning the Chosen In Christ Gospel Study, and begin Lesson 5 of Encounter! (See videos & slides below)

Special thanks to 'Jack's Dad!' (aka, Rob Blackburn) for assisting.

Next class will be this Sunday Feb. 2nd, 1:30-3pm in the Youth Room.

It is mandatory for both the Catholic parent and candidate to attend the sessions.

Ages 5-17 years old are invited to Oratory at 1pm every Saturday at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Learn more about Oratory (including the schedule) at https://sacredheartak.org/oratory.

While we have had quite a few wonderful parishioners volunteer to assist in EDGE & HSYG, their schedules do fluctuate and it would be very helpful to have more who are willing to assist.

Per the Diocese policy for the safety of everyone, a minimum of 2 certified adults are required to be present for all Youth Ministry activities.

Please prayerfully consider completing your certification, and/ or asking individuals who you think would be a willing volunteer. Or, you can submit suggestions for me to contact. Thank you. -Beth

All youth ministry volunteers must have current certification for the course of Serving Vulnerable Populations and a Criminal History Record Check on file with the Diocese. More information can be found by visiting Adult Training on the Diocese of Fairbanks website. Diocese of Fairbanks - Adult Training - Fairbanks, AK

Call or Text 907-978-4786

Email stnicksym@cbna.org

Sundays 10am-7pm

Please call, text, or email for

appointments Monday-Saturday

It is a privilege to work with St. Nick's Youth!

As always, please never hesitate to contact me for any reason.

I pray you are having a blessed week.

In Christ's love, Beth