Our Lady of 

Lourdes Church

Dear Parishioners, OLL School Families and Friends of the Parish:
 
On the eve of Saturday (January 9, 2021), prior to the celebration of the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Christmas Season will be ended. And here is something to end the Christmas Season:

“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.”
Howard Thurman

With the ban on indoor worship lifted weeks ago, we were looking forward to the immediate future when we can go back inside the church once it is safe. Our hopes, however, are dampened with the new strain of the virus which is more aggressive and leaving hospitals without enough room for new patients. What is so disturbing is the decision that first responders are advised not to bring patients to the Emergency Room if they are deemed having no chance of survival.
 
In OLL, we are looking forward to bringing back our students from PreK-2 on January 19 as we were granted a waiver. With the new surge in Covid-19 cases, we do not think this would be pastorally prudent, wise, practical and above all, in line with the virtue of charity.
 
Let us then take on our Christmas Mission after Christmas within these different scenarios as described above. As we have come from difficult times with great hopes for a better future, let each one think of how to bless others and say a prayer of blessing for all those we know, whether we like them or not. Let it be our Christmas Mission to be a blessing to others, especially those whose lives we touch.
 
And so, I take this opportunity towards the end of the Christmas Season to THANK YOU for being a Blessing to everyone and to OLL Parish which is our Home. While we socially distanced or isolated ourselves from each other out of charity, I felt a certain closeness to everyone, a closeness that defies physical distance, a closeness that is more spiritual and familial.
 
Join us, in whatever way you can in our Eucharistic Celebrations because the Eucharist is the Center and Summit of our Christian life.
Saturdays:
            Confessions on Saturdays from 4:45 – 5:45 P.M.
            Anticipated Sunday Mass in English at 6:00 P.M. (live streamed)
            (The lower parking lot by the Junior High is reserved for Drive-In Mass Goers)
Sundays:
            Spanish Mass at 8:00 A.M. (live streamed)
Drive Thru Holy communion at 8:45 A.M. for those who joined our Live-Streamed Masses
            (The lower parking lot by the Junior High is reserved for Drive-In Mass Goers)
 
Follow us on Facebook for our live streamed Masses at:
 
https://www.facebook.com/106570891120663/live/
 
We find hope in the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines.  Kindly note that the Catholic Conference of Bishops of the United States do not find anything morally wrong in the production of the Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines approved by the FDA for distribution. See page  4  of the January 3 issue of the Parish Bulletin.
 
Part of our Centennial commemorations are to come out with a Time Capsule and to build a Digital Church Sign to replace the Signage made of concrete by Apperson Street, said Church sign is part of our Parish Projects from the Called to Renew Capital Campaign. Details are to be worked out with the Archdiocese very soon. To mark our Centennial Year, a Time Capsule will be constructed somewhere in front of the Church. What do you think should be in the Time Capsule? Kindly see page 3 of the Parish Bulletin.
 
Be included, too, in our Centennial Commemorative Book by visiting www.ollcentennial.com . For our information, a digital presentation of our Centennial commemorative book ad is in the offing.
 
May the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Lourdes, journey with us in this New Year as she draws us to her Son, Jesus Christ.
 
Happy New Year to everyone!
 
Fr. Rolly Astudillo