The Feast of the Holy Family

12-31-2017Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this Holy Family Sunday, I offer a reminder of why I start my columns the way that I do. In Judaism of the time of Jesus, your family was your tribe. Aramaic does not have a word for cousin. If you were a member of a tribe, then what we today might term as "cousins" in English were all called brothers and sisters. Today, we make distinctions between first and second cousins, third cousins once-removed, etc. We might help a first cousin because we consider them "close family," but we might ignore the plea of a fifth cousin because they are too distant of a relation. In Jesus' time even they would still be your brother or sister.

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Merry Christmas

12-24-2017Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tonight is the night! Merry Christmas to all! The Christmas Masses, often bring many visitors to our parish, especially family members and friends of parishioners. We pray you find a warm welcome from our family of St. Mary's Church and School. May the love of the Christ Child born of the Virgin Mary bring us true peace deep within our hearts. Below is a short reflection on Christmas from Bishop Robert Barron. –

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Gaudéte...Rejoice

12-17-2017Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today is the Sunday of Joy! The name "Gaudete" comes from the official Introit of the Third Sunday of Advent, "Gaudéte in Dómino …"; "Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near" (Philippians 4:4-5). We light the rose candle in the Advent wreath and wear rose vestments, the color of the sky just before the dawn. The Lord is near! We are called to purify our hearts and make straight with joy the paths to Christ our Savior. He comes to us in our humanity, offering us a share in His divinity.

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The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

12-10-2017Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Sunday we give honor to our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Although the actual feast is Dec. 12, we move our celebration to the nearest Sunday so as many people as possible are able to participate.) This year, we are making the celebration more accessible to our whole parish with a bilingual Mass at 11am followed by a solemn procession down Park Avenue, returning to St. Angela Hall for an afternoon of fiesta. Even if you went to an earlier Mass, please come join us for the procession and fiesta!

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First Sunday of Advent

12-03-2017Pastor's LetterRev. Gregory B. Wilson, VF

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy New (Church) Year! We begin a new year of grace in the Church's liturgical life. Advent begins not by looking to Christ's first coming as an infant, but to His glorious second advent – or coming. In the meantime, we learn to wait and prepare.

Here are a couple of suggestions to help make this Advent a real time of preparation. First, the fruitful Catholic discipline of Eucharistic Adoration in Ste Claire Chapel. To spend a half -hour or an hour in the presence of the Lord is not to achieve very much in the sight of the world, but it has immense power to deepen your faith. It is a particularly rich form of spiritual "waiting." As you keep vigil before Jesus truly there in the Blessed Sacrament, bring to Him some problem you have been agonizing over. "Lord, I'm waiting for you to solve this, to show me the way forward. I've been running, planning, worrying, but now I'm going to let youwork." Then, throughout Advent, watch carefully for signs.

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