Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dearest family,

           Lenten blessings on this beautiful afternoon on the eve of Passion (Palm) Sunday. We are about to embark on a journey with Our Lord like none we have ever taken before. Like the first Christians, we celebrate these mysteries with a threat that surrounds us. However we will celebrate them with great faith and united by a bond not subject to space or time: The Spirit’s Love.

            As far as I know, our parish has not directly been affected by this pandemic. The parish has suffered financially and emotionally as we seek to grow in faith while in this self-imposed exile. While a few of our parishioners have unfortunately passed away in the last few days, no one to my knowledge among our clergy, staff, ministers or households have contracted the virus now known as Covid-19. I ask you to pray for the consolation of the families who must wait in order to celebrate public funeral Masses with family members and friends of the deceased.
 
            However, beloved, these High Holy Days, in the midst of a pandemic or not, are the shape of our hope! In these days to follow we see the best and the worst humanity has to offer. During the course of these sacred hours we experience the depths of our world’s brokenness and the power of God’s love to heal, restore, and triumph over the forces of evil and darkness.
 
            I want to thank you as we have communally now gone three weeks into a traumatic and unprecedented time. In some sense, we began Passiontide early as we have been asked in many ways to be stripped of our control and to embrace a hope for a promise we do not yet see. Yet we believe that our strange new fast will deliver the promise of life to come. It is in this time I must show my gratitude as I have been humbled and inspired by your faithfulness thus far as a parish family. We have shared emotions and vulnerabilities, prayed with and for each other, and learned to hone our eyes of faith so as to see God’s work in the midst of an uncertain time. You, my beloved, have shown me what it is to love in a heroic manner by caring for me and for each other! You have done your best to help the parish with prayers and donations, supporting the livelihood of the staff and keeping the lights on. And you have done all of this being hard-pressed yourself to take care of you and your loved ones. You utterly amaze me and I love you for that, more than I can ever express.
 
            My plea to you and your household: continue to follow Jesus faithfully through this week! Follow Him as He is welcomed into Jerusalem. Follow Him as He celebrates the Last Supper with the Apostles. Follow Him to the Garden of Gethsemane. Follow Him as He is placed under arrest, and goes on trial. Follow Him as He undergoes His passion. Follow Him to Mt. Calvary and stay by His side in the midst of whatever is happening, externally or internally. He who is faithful to us, asks us to be faithful to Him, because that is what true family does: lift each other up in faith, truth, and love.
 
            We will be live-streaming our Holy Week liturgies so that you and your families can participate in at home. Participate by your faith even over the miles and airwaves so that we can experience the richness of these days as a family. They will be broadcasted with a link you can find at our website: www.ologtaos.com. If for some reason the feed cuts off, which I am hopeful will not happen, see the above links for a place to share in these sacred moments above all knowing that you remain in a special place in my priestly heart at God’s altar!
 
            Also, let us continue to keep “in touch” through the means afforded us. I will be posting on the parish’s website these major announcements and supply links to parish/personal social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. On these I have been and will continue to post reflections, inspiring messages, and hold sessions for the building up of the faith. Through these means I have been able to meet up with individual parishioners, groups in formation, and various ministries. What a blessing!
           
            These are indeed strange times, but God’s Church has seen many times of plague, war, famine, and strife and has always come out victorious with the Cross as their banner leading the way. In a special way, as mentioned above, I am reminded of the plight of our first ancestors in faith. Because the Faith in the ancient Church was illegal, they had to celebrate Eucharist in their homes, participating in the Liturgy of the Church like one holding on to a lantern on an obscure path. Let us carry onward knowing this Light remains true, steady, and capable of banishing any level of darkness, no matter how ominous!
 
With much love, I remain your pastor,
 
Reverend Father Daniel J. Gutierrez
 

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For the complete news release, please visit archdiosf.org