Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
My Christmas letter to you is usually in the mail and to your home by Thanksgiving. This year everything and everyone seems to be just a bit off-kilter and out of sorts. I must confess that it has been a challenge for me to muster Christmas cheer to share with anyone. As we lit the first candle on the Advent wreath and I shared with you the first week’s theme of our new Church Year, I realized that my mission is not to bring cheer but rather to be the messenger of HOPE. Staring into the dark sky that evening and looking up at the moon shining bright and full, I understood that like John the Baptist, I am not the Light but rather the bearer of the Light. Images of the Easter Vigil came to my mind … people waiting in the darkness of the church, each holding a candle ready to receive the Light of Christ when He appears; the flame received and just as readily shared with those around. When the procession reaches the sanctuary and the Paschal Candle is in place, behold the church is filled with light … wow, the Church is one in the Light! Advent, too, bids us to draw near to Jesus as He comes, that our hearts might be set ablaze with the fire of His love.
The pressures of the Pandemic and Political tension and strife have fostered a negative Energy across our land, around the world and in our own homes. HOPE is our PPE – Personal Protective Equipment. Wear it as your armor of Light but be prudent and wise, just and attentive to your needs and the needs of those around you. I am witness to your faithfulness and courage, your fears and concerns, your devotion and incredible generosity. Thank you! It is awesome and humbling. It is hope-filled and shines brightly even as it flickers in the wind. This is Christmas: the Light that entered the world in Bethlehem through the love and the faith of Mary and Joseph who received Him and shared Him.
This Christmas may come and go as we have never experienced it before in our lives and may never again. With so much of the material world closed, sanitized and distanced, can we embrace the simplicity that brings us to Jesus? Avoid large gatherings this year and celebrate Christmas as the octave festival that it is. Join us online at any time and/or come to church in person alone or with your family during the eight days of Christmas Day. The Christmas season extends through to the Baptism of the Lord, January 10. Please see the complete Advent and Christmas Schedule of Masses. Note the various times available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Follow COVID-19 Protocol and your own comfort level. Stay safe. Shine the Light of Christ!
With the prayers and best wishes of our Sacred Heart Parish Staff, I am devotedly yours in Christ,
Rev. John P. Alvarado, pastor
