The world did not end. It is 1900 years later but we still repeat these passages from Scripture. Why? Because Jesus and the writers of the New Testament said that it was going to happen. They were wrong. To make some sense of these predictions we interpret them not literally but metaphorically. The saying is “Do not interpret them literally but take them seriously”. Over the centuries we have often interpreted them as referring to our own deaths when we will meet the Lord. We also interpret them, as I do, to mean that God is still with us encouraging us to make the world a better place. We struggle (and it is hard work) to make the world more just and merciful where all the people of the world are our brothers and sisters. “The moral arc of the world is long but it bends towards justice” is one way of say this. But sometimes I doubt this. I think I am as delusional as the early church. This world is a vale of tears and there is not much you can do about it. I use Advent as a time to overcome my present pessimism and focus on the Christ Child in the stable in Bethlehem. It is God’s way of telling us that He has not abandoned us. The moral arc of the universe has been broken many times but it recovers because God is helping it to recover. God needs us in this work.

 2nd  Sunday in Advent: Daily thoughts and Scriptures Readings to Prepare for Christ’s Coming:

Sunday December 10, 2017: Mark 1:7: One Mightier is Coming! ~ time today to make room for Jesus in your life.
Monday December 11, 2017:Luke 5:20:Your Sins are Forgiven! ~ let us forgive others as we have been forgiven
Tuesday December 12, 2017:Luke 1:46-47:Proclaim God’s Greatness! ~ let us tell someone today what God means to us.
Wednesday December 13, 2017:Isaiah 40:28-31:God Will Not Get Weary! ~ ask God to give you strength to change your life.
Thursday December 14, 2017: Isaiah 41:13: God Will Help Us ~ ask God to help you become more like Jesus.
Friday December 15, 2017: Isaiah 48:17:Lead Us to Yourself, O God ~let us follow more closely god’s ways today.
Saturday December 16, 2017: Psalm 80:18-19:Give Us New Life ~ let us turn from our sinful ways and let God heal us.


Collection : the collection for last Sunday, December 3, 2017 was $4,094.
This  Sunday the second collection will be for the Retirement Fund for Religious ~ please give to those who have given a lifetime in the service to God.
Food Collection: thank you for you generosity we were able to fill 18 bags of groceries for the needy in our community
 Christmas Flowers: Today's Christmas Flower Collection helps to defray the cost of decorating our altars for Christmas and the names on the back of your envelopes will be placed on a Christmas plaque in the rear of the church; in memory of your loved ones.
Large Poinsettia Plants      $50.00
Medium Poinsettia Plants $25.00
Small Poinsettia Plants       $20.00

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: this feast commemorates the 4 apparition of Mary in 1531 to the peasant Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill near Mexico City. Appearing like a Mexican princess, Mary told him that a church should be built there. When Juan told the bishop, he demanded proof. Mary sent Juan to gather some roses (unusual in December) to present to the bishop. When Juan opened his cloak (tilma) to give the roses to the bishop, they also discovered a painted image of the Blessed Virgin imprinted on the tilma, which is now preserved in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. When the image of the virgin appeared on the tilma of Juan Diego, it was the prophecy of an embrace: Mary’s embrace of all the people of the vast expanses of America-the people who already lived there, and those who were yet to come. Mary’s embrace showed what America-North and South-is called to be: a land where different people come together to accept human life at every stage, from the mother’s womb to old age; a land which welcomes immigrants, and the poor and the marginalized in every age.
“O gracious and loving Mary, Lady of Guadalupe, through your presence make us aware of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. May Christ send us blessings of peace and harmony, and may we receive love and healing we need to get closer to Him”
-Pope St. John XXIII (October 12,1961)

December 2017:

15th Family Catechesis II  from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
16th NO Religious Education Instruction today
23rd NO Religious Education Instruction today “Christmas Recess”
30th NO Religious Education Instruction today “Christmas Recess”



Sunday, December 10, 2017:
7:30for the Parishioners
9:00 Francisca Parreño Taveras                                                Marisol Taveras  
11:00 Domingos Manuel Rodrigues                                           Eduardo & Esther Rodrigues
Monday 11, 2017:
12:05 Michael Mc Granet                                                            Friend
Wednesday, December 13, 2017:
12:05 Mary Chekkoru                                                                  Family
Thursday, December 14, 2017:
12:05 Steven Gebauer                                                                Family
Saturday, December 16, 2017:
12:05 Virgil Berrelli                                                                      Wife  Angela
5:00 Anna Prato                                                                          John Prato & Family
7:00  Alejadra Santiago & Sabad Vasquez                                 Family
Sunday, December 17, 2017:
7:30for the Parishioners
9:00 Dibursio Tovar & Hudelio Galindo                                       Torivio Tovar
11:00 Hilal Ereifej                                                                         Doraid Ereifej