Posted on March 8, 2024 View all Pastor's Letter
Dear brothers in Christ,
We are celebrating the Fourth Sunday of Lent, and the liturgy offers us an anticipated aroma of Easter joy. The priest’s vestments this Sunday are rose because we celebrate “laetere” Sunday, which invites us to serene joy. “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her…” With those words begins the entrance antiphon in today’s Eucharist.
God wants us to be happy and optimistic; His will is that we always see His joyful presence in our lives because, according to psychology, a person who lives sad and angry ends up depressed and sick in body and soul, and that is not a sign of the presence of God. Our joy must be founded on Christ, our friendship with Him, and the grace received through the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. Saint Teresa of Ávila distinguished joy into types; “Holy Joy,” which is what arises from within by the grace of God and by sacramental life, and “Foolish Joy,” which is external joy and lasts very little and, in the end, the human being ends up sadder and bitterer. I hope that this Sunday dedicated to joy, we seek to be joyful with the Lord despite life’s difficulties.
Talking a little about the pastoral life of our parish. As I did last week, I invite you to participate in the 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration, which began on Tuesday the 19th and will conclude on Thursday the 21st with the Holy Mass. It is an excellent opportunity to pray for the diocese, our bishop, and especially for our parish, our ministries, and our movements. I ask all ministries and movements to take one or more hours as a group to be with the Lord. I invite you to sign up; we have the sign-up sheets in the vestibule, so you can pick what time you will take to be with the Lord.
Also, I want to remind you that on March 18th, starting at 7:00 pm, we will have our Lenten penitential service; everyone is invited to participate, and we will have several guest priests who will help us hear confessions; at the same time, we will continue with our usual confession schedules. God’s mercy is great and an excellent opportunity to rediscover grace and forgiveness.
Don’t forget that you are invited to participate in the dinner for couples on March 16th in honor of the feast of St. Joseph; it is an exclusive activity for couples; the cost of the ticket is $120 and includes dinner and other activities that we will have for our guests. Married couples, I encourage you to participate with your spouse. Buy your tickets at the parish office or after Masses.
Finally, you will soon receive the calendar with the Holy Week activities; I hope we can participate in all the liturgical activities. From now on, I encourage you to participate, especially in the Easter Triduum, and thus join us in the saving sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I hope you have a blessed week.
Fr. Alex
