During this season of Advent, we continue to honor our Mother Mary in special ways. This Monday, December 9th, we honor Mary as we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. This feast day is usually celebrated on December 8th but was moved so 
as not to conflict with the Second Sunday of Advent. As reported in the media publication “Vatican News”, Pope Francis, reflecting of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, noted that Mary “specifically because of her simplicity, kept pure that Immaculate Heart which, by God’s grace, she had been conceived.”
This feast day is a Holy Day of Obligation and it presents us with the opportunity to affirm our belief that Mary was blessed among women and was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception. In addition to our Masses at 6:30 am, 9 am, 12 noon, and a Holy Redeemer School Mass at 1:30 pm, we will offer Mass at 5 pm on Monday, with a reception to follow, prior to the evening session of our Parish Mission presented by Dr. Allen Hunt.
Then, on Thursday, December 12th, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as we once again honor Mary, our Mother. She is the patroness of the United States, Mexico, and all of the Americas, as well as the protector of the unborn. She is a religious and cultural figure to the people of Mexico. In 1531, she appeared in a vision of a humble peasant farmer named Juan Diego near Mexico City. The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe helped generate the conversion of Mexico and Latin America to Catholicism. Her feast day is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm throughout the Americas.
As we focus on these two great feast days of our Church and on the words of Our Holy Father, please be aware that we will have additional opportunities during this season of Advent to avail ourselves of the great Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Sacrament is here to heal us spiritually and get us closer to the Lord who loves us. Please check the parish bulletin or the parish website for additional times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
During this great season of Advent, my hope is that through our devotion to Mary, through our prayers and spiritual reflections, through our acts of charity, and through the healing provided by the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will truly be spiritually prepared as we wait in joyful anticipation for the coming of the Christ Child.