Dear Parishioners:
As you may have seen, I am back home from my “prison stay” in Buffalo and I am pretty sure that it is for good! I am very, very happy to be back at St. Patrick’s parish!
In November 2013, Pope Francis published a pastoral exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). In the pastoral exhortation, Pope Francis wrote: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting Jesus encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.”
Let that be your Advent resolution: to have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. As St. John tells us the Gospel: “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that anyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:16 -17).”
This is the person whom Pope Francis wants us to have a personal encounter: the Christ who loved us so much that He became one of us and that same Christ died for us on the cross for our redemption.
While Advent is a time focused on Christ (obviously), Advent is also a time to be focused on Mary, the Blessed Mother. This week we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th) and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12th).
On December 9, 1531, the Blessed Mother appeared to a poor Indian named Juan Diego. The Blessed Mother asked that a shrine be built to “hear petitions and heal the suffering of the Mexican people.” Juan Diego reported the apparition to the Bishop who demanded a sign: that roses would bloom in December. The roses did indeed bloom and when Juan Diego collected the roses into his cape or tilma, and presented the roses to the Bishop, the image of the Blessed Mother appeared on the tilma!
What I also found very moving was the effect of the Mary’s apparition. Up to that point, there were not many converts to the Christian faith. However, within seven years of the apparition, NINE MILLION (yes, million) native Mexicans were baptized! That is an average of 3,000 converts per day!
Mary appeared as an Indian maiden, dressed like an Aztec princess. Under her feet is the crescent moon, the symbol of the old Aztec religion. The message is clear: Our Lady of Guadalupe is more powerful than the Aztec gods! Her gown is adorned with stars in the correct position as the night sky.
Mary also appeared to Juan Diego’s uncle and told him she wanted to be known as “Santa Maria de Guadalupe”. On October 12, 1945, Pope Pius XII decreed our Lady of Guadalupe to be the “Patroness of the Americas”.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Fr. Brian