For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mt 12:50)

Today we celebrate a beautiful feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary namely, the Feast of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple. The celebration illuminates our Christian faith that wonderful and grace-filled moment when Saints Joachim and Anne presented their daughter, Mary, in the Temple. 

The Bible does not tell us anything about the childhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But tradition tells us that she was the daughter of St. Joachim and St. Anne. (We celebrate their feast day on July 26.) While still a young child, Mary was brought by her parents to the Temple in Jerusalem and presented her to the Lord. Mary’s whole life was to belong to God. He had chosen her to be the Mother of his Son, Jesus. The Blessed Virgin was happy to begin serving God in the Temple. And St. Joachim and St. Anne were pleased to offer their saintly little girl to God. They knew that God had sent her to them.

In the Temple, the high priest received the child Mary. She was placed among the girls who were dedicated to prayer and Temple service. While Mary received an education at the Temple, she also must have been a wonderful example to her companions of goodness and joy.

St. Joachim and St. Anne went back home. They praised and thanked God for their blessed daughter. And Mary remained in the Temple, where she grew in holiness. She spent her days reading the Bible, praying, and serving the Temple priests. She made beautiful linens and splendid vestments. Mary tried to do each of her duties well to please God. She grew in grace and gave great glory to the Lord. (iMissal, Saint a Day)

Mary lived her whole life to please God. She was always aware of His divine presence. We can ask our heavenly Mother Mary to teach us how to stay close to Jesus every day. We do this by consecrating ourselves daily to her and asking her to lead us to her Son.

My Queen and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you; and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my whole being without reserve. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am your own, keep me, guard me, as your property and possession. Amen.

Peace in Christ,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

St. Clare of Assisi

Houston, TX

I invite you to join us at St. Clare’s Eucharistic celebration:

1) Sat 4:30 PM (in person and livestream via facebook and our website)

2) Sunday 9:00 AM (in person and livestream via facebook and our website) and 11:00 AM

3) SPECIAL APPEAL: I am asking you again for your HELP to replace our 30 year old HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) air handling system. The scope of the project is to install all new duct work and service platforms, and to bring our system up-to-code. We need to raise $350,000 by the end of January, 2021 when the project is scheduled to be completed. Surely, no gift is too big or too small, your generosity will definitely make the difference. Please make a check payable to St. Clare of Assisi, HVAC project. My deepest gratitude to you for your financial support during this difficult time, without your generosity, we won’t be able to sustain our various ministries at St. Clare. THANK YOU!

I am looking forward to welcoming y’all. Have a blessed weekend!

Air hug!

>-(^_^)-< 

and bear hug! 

>-ʕ •ₒ• ʔ-<