Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

In the midst of this season of Advent, we celebrate on Tuesday, December 8th, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception which is a Holy Day of Obligation.  Catholics believe that from the moment of her conception, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved from original sin.  It is most appropriate that this feast falls during the Advent season.  During this season, we are called to have a generosity of spirit. Mary had this spirit as she generously accepted the call from the Angel Gabriel to bring the Christ Child into this world. Vigil Mass for the Immaculate Conception is this Monday, December 7th at 7pm. Mass for the Immaculate Conception is Tuesday, December 8th at 8:00am & 7:00pm. As we celebrate this great feast, and as the season of Advent continues, we are challenged to avoid secular distractions as we strive through prayer and acts of charity to truly prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

On Saturday, December 12th, we will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the patroness of the United States, Mexico and all of the Americas, as well as the protector of the unborn. She is a religious as well as a cultural figure to the people of Mexico.  In 1531, she appeared in a vision to a humble peasant farmer named Juan Diego near Mexico City. The appearance of

Our Lady of Guadalupe helped generate the conversion of Mexico and Latin America to Catholicism.  Her feast is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm throughout the Americas.

Pope Francis reflected on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and stated, “Like Jesus, Mary is close to all her sons and daughters; as a concerned mother, she accompanies them on their way through life. She shares all the joys and hopes, the sorrows and troubles of God’s People, which is made up of men and women of every race and nation.  When the image of the Virgin appeared on the tilma of Juan Diego, it was the prophecy of embrace: Mary’s embrace of all peoples… Mary’s embrace showed what America -North and South – is called to be: a land where different peoples come together; a land prepared to accept human life at every stage, from the mother’s womb to old age; a land which welcomes immigrants, and the poor and marginalized in every age.  A land of generosity.  That is the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it is also my message, the message of the Church. I ask all the people of the Americas to open wide their arms, like the Virgin, with love and tenderness.”

                                                Fr. Chester