We are doubling up on some good things. First you will note that we will be having bake sales this weekend and next. The Rosary Society and Family Life do great things for our parish, so I encourage you to participate and enjoy some homemade treats. Second, we have the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe this week. Two great feasts for Mary. I encourage you to turn to her in your prayers asking for her intercession as she is our patron for our country under the title of the Immaculate Conception.
Please add to your calendar the upcoming Advent Penance service on December 17th at 6:30 pm here at St. Peter parish. This service is one we collaborate with Holy Spirit parish. They will host our Lenten Penance service in the spring. Take time out to prepare for the birth of Jesus by preparing your heart with His mercy.
Advent as the beginning of the new liturgical year will feature the Gospel of St. Luke. In it we will find many parables of Jesus. The infancy narratives we are so familiar with for the birth of Jesus, the nativity scenes come from this Gospel. Luke gives us a real sense of the Incarnation, God with us in everyday life. Jesus used many images from daily life to teach us and draw us ever closer to Him and the life of holiness He invites us to live. St. Luke himself was a physician and the sense of Jesus bringing healing to the world comes through in this Gospel. Not just this season but each day I encourage you to take time and spend it with the Scriptures. We know more than we think we know having heard from it each Sunday that we gather for Mass. Even though passages may seem very familiar to us, taking the time and allowing them to sink into our hearts will bring out aspects of the Scriptures and applications to our life that we may not have noticed in the past. May the Scriptures be a blessing for you in the Advent season.