Posted on August 28, 2020 View all News
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I hope that everyone is doing well as we gradually overcome the fear of this situation that worries us more every day, mainly because of the uncertainty of when it will end, we must have much faith in God, pray tirelessly and see everything that is happening from the faith point of view and not from the human point of view. This coming Sunday, the Gospel calls us precisely to do that, not to let ourselves be defeated by our humanity. This Sunday, we see Peter trying to rebuke Jesus into not accepting the sacrifice of the cross, something for which Jesus admonishes him. Peter had a hard time understanding that suffering and trials are essential to the life of an apostle of Jesus. On more than one occasion, many of us act like Peter and put God’s will before ours, and the most challenging thing, we reject the sacrifice and the Lord’s cross. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to understand His will in our lives and not be afraid of the cross and suffering.
I want to touch on some points this week that I consider essential in our parish and that as a family of faith, we must share with all of you.
Many ask me if we are no longer going to return to the regular times of the Masses we had before the pandemic, the answer is that we will return, only that the diocese has not approved us to return to the regular times. We have to wait for the state to mandate when we will enter phase four, and based on that, we will return to a regular schedule. I ask for your prayers and patience with all this.
Also, I inform you that beginning on September 1st, we will have a new member of our staff, her name is Karla Aleman, and her position will be that of a Pastoral Associate. Her primary role will be to support all the pastoral areas of the parish; I want to promote and give more attention to all the groups and ministries of our parish. She has a lot of experience and knowledge in pastoral and formation for ministries; she will be excellent support for our parish, at the same time that she will help as Facilities Manager, and will support Flora in other activities concerning the movement and development of our parish. I welcome Karla, and I am more than sure that she will do great good for our parish’s pastoral development.
I want to remind those who have children in the catechetical formation stage that we are almost on the verge of starting Religious Education classes, because of the pandemic I know that many are afraid to send their children to receive the lessons. However, I want to assure you that we will disinfect and take all possible measures to avoid contagion. Classes begin on September 13th at the usual times. For more information, please contact our DRE Susan Gray, and she will assist you with any information you need.
Finally, I invite you to welcome all the students of our school who began their classes on Wednesday, August 26th. This year we will not have an in-person Mass with the children to start their school year due to the pandemic, but I offered a Mass on Wednesday for the teachers, the parents, and for all the students. Let’s pray that everything goes well for us. In the same way, I thank our principal for all the hard work she has done preparing, even the smallest details for the children and teachers to return to a safe place. Usually, we don’t stop to think about all the stress and hard work involved in getting ready for the start of a new school year, and even more so now amid this challenging situation. Thank you very much, Anne, for all your effort, dedication, love for your vocation as a teacher, and the love for our children.
I invite you to continue praying and always remain in grace since grace encourages us always to continue connecting with God. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, intercede for all and help us with her maternal grace.
God bless you all.
Fr. Alex
