Fr. Mike Cronin

Pastor

Dear Friends in the Lord,

The Advent season is a time of patient waiting for the coming of the Lord at the end of time. In the meantime, we trust. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a famous Jesuit, said it this way: “Above all, trust in the slow work of God. You are quite naturally impatient in everything. To reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something anew. And yet it is the law of all progress that is made by passing through some stages of instability—and that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually—let them grow. Let them shape themselves, without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Tuesday, December 8. It is the Patronal Feast Day of the United States of America and a holy day of obligation in the USA. Originating in the 7th century, the day was established as a solemnity for the entire Church in 1708. Chosen by God, Mary reverses the sin of Eve. Because of her obedience, God’s salvation is known to all the nations. (Excerpts taken from the Ordo: Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and the Celebration of the Eucharist, 2015) Mass at St. Mary’s will be at 5:15pm and will be live streamed.

Blessings,
Fr. Mike