“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Tied with these words of Christ is the story of how Peter, Andrew, James, and John dropped everything, literally everything, to follow the Lord.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a presidential motorcade, but they’re quite the sight. Police everywhere, lots of big black vehicles with flashy lights, the whole works. Royalty back in the day didn’t have motorcades, obviously, but they didn’t travel in any less style.
Today we celebrate Mary, Mother of God. This is usually a Holy Day of Obligation, but since it falls on a Sunday, we just celebrate it today, no “extra” Masses for either Christmas or Mary this year. I’ll tell you, this is the best year ever for a priest's schedule - Christmas and Mary Mother of God falling on Sundays mean not a lot of extra “work.” Which is especially helpful for me this year.