Posted on June 25, 2021 View all Pastor's Letter
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are celebrating the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today, Saint Mark presents us with the despair of the sick looking for comfort and health. Even that day, a man named Jairus, the head of the synagogue, made his way through the crowd to implore for his daughter’s health.
Who knows if that man knew Jesus, but finding himself so desperate, he decided to invoke his help. Jesus sees the faith of that afflicted father and performs that unexpected miracle, which undoubtedly changed the life of the father and the daughter forever; the only thing that Jesus asked of that father was a greater faith, capable of going beyond doubts and fear.
We too should have more faith, that faith that does not doubt in the face of life’s difficulties and trials, and that knows how to mature in pain through our union with Christ, as Pope Benedict XVI suggests in his encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope): “What heals man is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love.” (Spe Salvi # 37).
As previously advised, this weekend the dispensation to attend Mass on Sunday’s ends due to pandemic restrictions changes. The region’s bishops have decided that it is time for us to participate in person in the Sunday Eucharist, although the dispensation will continue to be valid only for those who are sick or have a delicate medical condition will continue with this dispensation. For everyone else, the dispensation will no longer be valid; this means that if you do not attend Mass, you incur a serious sin, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church number 2181. Therefore, starting next Sunday, July 4th, it will only be transmitted via Facebook the 10:00 am Mass in English, the 1:30 pm mass in Spanish, and the 6:30 am daily Mass. The other Masses will no longer be transmitted.
I also inform you that on July 2nd, we will reopen the Adoration Chapel. We will only do it for two days: Friday and Saturday. I know that the past was all different, but it is tough for me to guess how to do things, as I expressed in the previous letter. Thank God we have most of the hours covered; some spaces are still available, but I have faith that we will soon fill all of them. I ask you to register; there are sign-up sheets in the vestibule, and you choose the time you would like to participate. It is an hour with the Lord, and it is a worship service to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He always calls us to follow Him, and if there is devotion and love, there must be humility and docility to serve Him.
Finally, I inform you more than a month in advance that on August 21st, we will celebrate our Patroness Feast in honor of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, and in honor of this feast, we will have a family festival in the parking lot of our parish. The idea is to have games for the children, entertainment for everyone, live music, performances and food from different cultures. We will also have a raffle that we will inform you soon what it will be. Mark it on your calendar, and at the same time, I ask you to help me in the organization or as a volunteer on the day of the event. The festival has a double objective, to have fun and unite us more, and have an economic profit for the parish
I look forward to your support and your presence that day.
May you all have a happy week, and may Jesus and Mary always bless you.
Fr. Alex
