From the Pastor’s desk— December 15, 2024

      

Dear Parishioners,

This past week we celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe. On Tuesday we had rosary and mass followed by “pan y chocolate” (“sweet breads and hot chocolate”) in the hall. Wednesday, we did the same, but at 9pm everyone gathered in Church for a retelling of the story of Our Lady and Juan Diego blended with many musical and dance performances by parishioners to honor Our Lady. I was so proud to be part of this parish. I was very impressed by the dedication of the dancers, the talent of the singers, and the sweetness of the children who performed. The celebration went until midnight when we sang “Las Mañanitas” to greet Our Blessed Mother. Finally on Thursday evening, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we had an hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction and then Mass. There was a presentation of flags of the many nations who were gathered together here, more traditional dance, and the Knights of Columbus’ honor guard. The Church was full and members of all three choirs came together to lead us in song. The whole celebration was beautiful. At the end of it all, I felt a great spiritual consolation and a feeling of being home. My great thanks again to all who made it a success. The altar of Our Lady will stay up until Monday with all of the flowers that were presented during the three days. Please enjoy their beauty and take time to pray for our Blessed Mother’s intercession.

As the days until Christmas count down, remember to take time to pray. Before you go shopping, cleaning, putting out decorations, pause to remember who all this is for. When our hearts are in the right place, everything else will be as it should. It can be tempting to get caught up in commercialism and keeping up with the neighbors, but celebrations like Our Lady of Guadalupe are opportunities to set our focus where it needs to be. I’m writing this before our parish Christmas party, but I hope many of you were able to participate. We also have La Posada after 6pm mass on Sunday, Dec 22 and all are invited.

           

 

             

  

Fr. Joseph