Latest Message from Fr. Paul Cao – December 10, 2023
ADVENT – This week, as we enter the second week of Advent, we light the second candle and hear the Gospel of Luke telling us the message of John the Baptist who was sent to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus, the light of the world. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist was the one God sent to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah. He calls us to prepare ourselves, to return to the Lord and to seek for the forgiveness of our sins. If there is some crooked attitude, or some crooked way of behaving that needs to be straightened out in our lives, let us try to do so. If there is something that prevents us from coming to the Lord, let us straighten it out. Let us respond to the crying out of John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord during this Advent season. Jesus is waiting for us to return to him. God doesn’t abandon us when we stray from the straight path. He keeps calling us back from our crooked ways to the straight path.
Advent is an excellent time to aim ourselves in the right direction, and to commit ourselves to the right path. Jesus is waiting for us in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Please come to him seeking for forgiveness and love during this Advent season.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CELEBRATION – Please join us this Monday, December 11 to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a Mass in Spanish at 7:30 PM and Tuesday, December 12 at 7 PM for a bilingual Mass at St. Celestine Church. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas. Fr. Moises Navarro, our Associate Pastor will be the celebrant. I am grateful for Fr. Moises and the committee who organize the Our Lady of Guadalupe novena and celebrations. There will be a reception after mass on December 12. Please set aside time in your schedule to come and pray, asking our Blessed Mother to intercede for us and help us to be closer to her son, Jesus Christ.
A FILIPINO TREAT – Be sure to join with the Filipino members of our parish community as we celebrate Simbang Gabi at the 5 PM Mass next Saturday, December 16 at St. Celestine Church. Simbang Gabi (“Masses of the Night”) is a novena of Marian Masses that are celebrated on nine days immediately preceding the Masses of Christmas. Everyone is also invited to a meal of Filipino delights in the gym and annex immediately following the Mass.
May the spirit of Advent help us to prepare well for Christmas!
May God bless you and your loved ones!
In prayer,
Fr. Paul Cao
Pastor of St. Mother Theodore Guerin Parish