n the Gospel of Luke, the Annunciation (1:26-38), we hear the angel Gabriel sent from God proclaim to Mary, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” In this brief yet powerful proclamation we see the Old Testament and the New Testament “hinged” together—the New Testament does not replace the Old but rather it is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. We see in this gospel the desire of all people to seek God and the desire of God to be with His people, come to be in one, singular person: Mary.

We are in the midst of our annual Advent Giving Tree (AGT) program and to date we have raised $19,655. As you well know the AGT supports two beneficiaries: the Knights of Malta Mobile House of Care, providing medicine and treatments to those who have no opportunity to seek medical help outside of the Emergency Room at area hospitals, and our parish’s own Neighbors In Need fund, which assists our neighbors with food, daily living expenses like heat, electricity, medicine, and more. Both of these outreach programs help people right where they are—in the midst of suffering,—your generosity alleviates pain and suffering, hopelessness and anxiety.

Numerous mothers and fathers as well as little children told me of the great time they had last Saturday at our parish’s Breakfast with Santa—from the wonderful breakfast feast of pancakes, eggs and home fries to the arts-and-crafts, carol signing, games, letters written to Santa—and all topped off with a visit with Santa himself. A grand day for all!

For many young Catholics and non-Catholics today there is a lack of understanding or connection to “religious life” in our Church. And when I say “religious life” I don’t mean living faithfully everyday but rather specifically I mean a “Religious sister or brother,” not a sibling who is close to God but one who has answered the call—a vocation—to serve the Lord in a Church ministry

Advent is a time to prepare our faith—as Father mentioned last weekend—we need to keep working on our own Baptismal gown we wore at our baptism, perfect white like our Christian dignity, now perhaps stained or tarnished by sins, indifference and doubt—but there are plenty of “cleaning solutions” for us to restore that Baptismal gown to its original beauty.

This weekend begins the Advent Season, a time of reflection on our faith lives and a call to renewal in faith—especially how we live out our faith each and every day. As you enter the Church this weekend you will see our traditional Christmas trees decorated with the Advent Giving Tree envelopes which will enable you to make an offering to support one or both of our two main charities, the Malta House of Care and Neighbors in Need.