Dear Parishioners,
 
This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone had a blessed day. Here at the parish we had the Mass at 9:00am. After the Mass we had our traditional blessing and handing out of bread for families. We purchased the bread from Bachini’s bakery.  
 
This weekend we begin the Season of Advent! Last weekend we celebrated the solemnity of Christ the King of the universe. It marked the end of the liturgical year. We journeyed with Our Lord from his birth through his ministry, passion, death, resurrection, and into the growth of the Church and the spread of the Gospel to all the nations. We also had the privilege of having adult Confirmation. It has become a custom here at St. Teresa to provide the Sacrament of Confirmation to adults in the fall. Now we enter the season of Advent with all its many symbols and meanings.
 
The essential meaning of the season may be encapsulated by the terms anticipation or waiting. We anticipate the coming of the Messiah, the Lord, the return of the King. The term “advent” means “coming” and involves four weeks of preparation. We await two comings of Christ: (1) His Second Coming when he will judge the living and the dead at the end of time, (2) and we relive the period before Christ coming in the flesh in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. Before Christ the world was in darkness, enslaved to the forces of sin and death.
 
The color of the season is purple like the season of Lent, albeit the purple of Advent is darker and has more of a blueish hue to it. St. John the Baptist gives us a reason for the color purple when he quotes Isaiah: “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’” Our paths are prepared and made straight by acts of repentance and conversion. Hence, similar to Lent, the season of Advent is meant to be a season of repentance and conversion to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
 
Practically speaking, the work on the Church exterior is once again put on hold because of the weather. It is almost all completed. The last bit of work that still remains is to repair and paint the columns. Meanwhile, the image of our patroness at the front entrance of the church, St. Teresa, was wonderfully restored and she once again looks great looking out to Newport Avenue. Take a look up high the next time you are at the front entrance.
 
Finally, I want to say “thank you” to Brother Roger for his work with the children’s choir. Two weekends ago at the 9:00am Mass they debuted and they sounded excellent. His guidance enabled our school children to sing beautifully in a short span of time. I want to also encourage our parishioners to join our choir which sings at the 10:30am Mass. I am extremely grateful to our dedicated members who sing weekly, but we need more members. If God has given you a voice to sing, then that is a sign he is calling you to use it in the service of the liturgy as a choir member.
 
God bless,
Fr. Barrow