Posted on August 5, 2020 View all News
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
May the joy of the risen Jesus be with all of you, I hope you are well, healthy, hopeful, and desire to continue growing in grace and holiness.
Like every week, I want to start this letter with a short reflection on the Gospel and then talk about our parish.
This weekend’s Gospel is fascinating and gives a lot to talk about and meditate. Jesus gives His disciples a lesson of faith, terrified by the storm and the darkness in the middle of the sea; they cannot recognize Him. Their hearts and eyes are blind with fear. Many of us in these difficult times also feel those same feelings and doubts. Fear makes us stagnate and even lose hope, I know that many are depressed, and I ask God to soon get us out of this storm we are going through. Given all this, we must recognize the Lord amid everything difficult. He is here. His word takes us out of the paralysis of fear. If we trust Him fully, he gives us the ability to walk on the difficulties and problems we have very large that these are. He always listens to our prayer and helps us.
Next week we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year the celebration will be different because the solemnity is on Saturday. We will have a Spanish Mass on the 14th the day before, and on the 15th at 8:00 am, and 12:00 noon, for all those who wish to participate, I remind you that if you cannot come, the Bishop still allows the faithful to follow the Mass on social networks. This year we will not have the procession from previous years with the representation of Marian Advocates. I am very sorry not to be able to do it, but I prefer not to put anyone at risk. Let us ask Our Mother to help us overcome this situation soon. Also, this week, I have sent a letter to the Bishop requesting his permission to establish August 22 as our feast day on the day set by the church. I hope the Bishop’s approval is positive.
On another note, please pray for our parish school, for the teachers, and the students. This year will be a great challenge due to the pandemic. Catholic schools will teach almost regularly, and I say almost because some things will not be done as usual. Therefore, to protect the children, the school will be closed to any individual who is not part of the staff, and we will have to take strict measures to keep the facility disinfected as much as possible. I ask parents for understanding and trust because we try to do everything in our control; I know that some parents have decided not to send their children this year to our school, for these reasons, believe me, I understand you. I reaffirm my spiritual support and my prayers, and I hope you will come back after all this is over.
As announced last week, starting on the 16th of this month we will open a new Mass in Spanish on Sundays at 1:30 in the afternoon, with the aim that many of our parishioners come back to their parish, I have noticed that many go to other neighboring churches. I think it is not fair that this happens because they are parishioners who live within our boundaries; I ask for your support to make this a success. In the same way, I inform you that the baptisms for September will no longer be celebrated on Sundays, but on Saturdays at 10:30 am, so that there is more time for this celebration.
Finally, I want to encourage those who have a vocation for teaching to help us as catechists in our Religious Education program. We need catechists committed to planting the seed of faith in our children and youth’s hearts. If you have the time and are willing to help, please reach out to our Director of Religious Education. Your help is of great support to our parish.
I hope you have a blessed weekend, I have you in my prayers, and I ask for your prayers to carry out this mission with joy.
In Christ
Fr. Alex
