Before the formal introduction, I hereby proclaim this to be a hodgepodge bulletin column. Welcome to Advent and Year C for the lectionary cycle! This means that we will primarily be hearing from Luke’s Gospel during Sunday Mass. Yes, I know this is totally nerdy. Luke has a good amount of unique content—more narratives about Mary, details about Jesus’ birth, the prodigal son, and more! Luke’s Gospel is traditionally considered to be Paul’s Gospel as they worked closely together on the missionary journeys. Perhaps, this Advent you can prayerfully read through Luke’s entire Gospel. It would be a great way to prepare for the coming of our Lord this Christmas. Besides, it is always cool to read the Bible. Click on title for full column.

In an act of trust, I am writing this update about reopening OLR in the hours just before we will definitively find out when OLR will be ready for Mass. Assuming everyone who is supposed to start the final stage of work shows up tomorrow, the first public Masses will be held in the newly renovated church on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 5 at their regularly scheduled times. Many people have waited, worked, and sacrificed in the lead-up to this new chapter in the parish’s history, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to get here. To all of you who generously contributed, prayed, and waited patiently, please know of my prayers and thanks. I appreciate the hard work and planning of my staff and the contractors, architect, and workmen, and perhaps above all, I owe my gratitude and sanity to Dave Crowe, who has worked long hours and endured immense stress to keep this project moving along. He is the best business manager in the Archdiocese, no bones about it. Click on title for full column.

With everything building towards the implementation of Beacons of Light, many parishes around the Archdiocese have been thinking and praying about how to build greater unity. Unity in our regions, unity in the new families, and unity in our local church are all on the forefront of people’s minds. Here in the WWPR, we’ve been working towards at least one such project for some time now, hoping for greater cooperation and community between the English- and Spanish-speaking parishioners. A consistent hurdle to this has been the language barrier that exists, but we are now seeing major strides towards overcoming this. Click on title for full column.

Hope of the Poor is coming to town 11/30-12/2! I am pumped and you should be too! I am blessed to call Craig Joring, one of the founders/directors of Hope of the Poor, a close friend, and I would love for all of you to meet him. He is an incredible disciple of Jesus Christ and lives the Gospel with great joy. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Danny yet, but I do know a bit about him. Both Craig and Danny have an immense love of Jesus and Our Lady of Guadalupe. That love drives the mission. What is better than that?! If that isn’t reason enough for you to come to the three-night mission, here are some other reasons. Click title for full column.