Pastor’s Corner

Sunday, December 5, 2021 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! 

This coming Wednesday December 8th is the Feast of Immaculate conception of Our Lady. This is a Holy Day of obligation. I invite all of you to come and celebrate Our Lady’s Feast. The Vietnamese and Spanish masses: Tuesday Dec 7th the vigil masses will be at 5:30pm Viet and 7pm Spanish. On Wednesday December 8th, the masses will be at 8:30 am, 5:30pm and 7pm in Vietnamese. As we continue our construction project, I ask you to be more generous in your financial support for our parish. May the Lord through the intercession of Our Lady of Lavang bless each one you with peace love and joy! 

The Second Sunday of Advent challenges us to prepare a royal highway in our hearts for Jesus so that we may receive him as our saving God during Christmas. We should also be prepared for his daily coming into our lives in the Holy Eucharist, in the Holy Bible, and in the praying community. Finally, we are asked to be ready to meet him as our Judge on his Second Coming, at the end of our lives and at the end of the world. In the first reading, the prophet Baruch introduces Yahweh, the God of Israel, preparing the way for, and leading the Baby-lonian exiles to, Jerusalem. Hence, the prophet invites the weeping Jerusalem to rejoice and go to high places to watch the return of the exiles. We, too, are asked to return to the Lord from our slavery to sin during this Advent season. In the second reading, Paul advises the Philippian community members to prepare themselves for Christ’s Second Coming by practicing Christian love and by leading pure and blameless lives. John the Baptist, in today’s Gospel, challenges the Jews to prepare their lives for receiving their long-awaited Messiah. They are to get ready by repenting of their sins, renewing their lives, and expressing their repentance by receiving the bap-tism of repentance in the Jordan River. 

This week let us especially prepare our hearts and lives for Jesus our Savior to be reborn in us during this Christmas time. We must fill in the “valleys” of our souls, formed from our shallow prayer life and a minimalist way of living our faith. We must straighten out whatever crooked paths we’ve been walking, like our commit-ting some secret or habitual sins or continuing in a sinful relationship. If we have been involved in some dishon-est practices at work or at home, we are called to straighten them out and make restitution. If we have been har-boring grudges or hatred, or failing to be reconciled with others, now is the time to clear away all the debris. As individuals, we might have to overcome deep-seated resentment, persistent fault-finding, unwillingness to for-give, dishonesty in our dealings with others, or a bullying attitude. Importantly, we all have to level the “mountains” of our pride and egocentrism by practicing the true humility of rendering humble service to others. 

Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ and Our Lady of La Vang! 

Reverend Joseph Luan Nguyen, 

Pastor