Pastor's Letter-- December 13, 2020

Happy Gaudete Sunday! The Latin word for "rejoice!" is the first word of the entrance antiphon for Sunday's Mass. With this Christmas soon upon us, we will all rejoice at the near end of 2020, the year of the worst pandemic in living memory. As the vast ramifications of this disease ripple through almost every aspect of daily living, we all are begging Our Lord for abundant success in the vaccines that are being rolled out as of now. It has been a series of good fortune that has allowed them to be available so quickly and yet remain both safe and highly successful. Please pray for our medical personnel who will be receiving the first available doses.

However, today is a reminder that it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. Our peace and our happiness have no other firm foundation. We must place our hope in Him alone. As, please God, the vaccine helps to protect the most vulnerable and ultimately, please God once again, begins the steady decline of this virus throughout most of 2021, we know that all the fallout from this nuclear disaster will require some serious care. The world needs Christ's light more than ever to shine in the darkness of our hearts and of our shattered hopes and dreams that weren't centered on Him. People are sick, hungry, lonely, confused, isolated, overwhelmed, and anxious. They need Christ. They are Christ. How can we bring Jesus to them? How can we see Jesus in them?

Intercessory prayer is an important work. Pray for them. But moreover, try to find someone in your own circle - family, friends, neighbors - who really needs something, and do what you can to provide it. By sharing in God's generous love, forgetting oneself and raising up another, we will find the Lord's joy. We rejoice in hope!

The work for the parish renovations will begin after Christmas. You should be able to see some of the design drawings and 3-dimensional renderings in the back of church, as well as tile and carpet samples, marble sample, and a prototype of the new altar steps. I hope this is helpful for your envisioning what our church interior will look like after Easter 2020. Unfortunately, due to COVID delays, it won't be completely finished before that important feast, but it will be close. If you haven't seen or learned about our parish's threeyear plan, please visit the parish website here. This plan is a guide for how we wish to expand the beautiful work of our parish and live out our mission ever more fully. The Lord desires us to be a light for our broken world, individually and as a parish community. May the Lord help us in our mission of bringing to the poor and broken the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Saint Thérèse, patroness of the missions, pray for us!