Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Thank you for your generosity to the Toy Drive in which we partnered with the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels! The many gifts helped us reach our goal.

Also, a special thanks to Michelle O'Donnell, our Director of Religious Education and all her helpers in producing the Christmas Pageant for our annual Night of Lights event. It was a special night of fun, laughter, prayer, and fellowship - a great way to prepare for the Christmas Season.

Our Christmas preparation continues this weekend. Beginning on Friday, December 12th at 5:30pm Mariachi Mass celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe moving into a Mini Advent Retreat with Father Mark on Saturday morning. The celebration of Guadalupe is a poignant reflection on God's mercy in light of heightened immigration enforcement. (The tamales and pan dulce after the Mariachi Mass are not to be missed!)

Then on Saturday evening, we'll be hosting the Adoro Ensemble for a special evening of music. It's part of a two-year interfaith effort for musical dialogue with Christianity and Judaism. The concert is Everlasting Flame: A Holiday Celebration, a program illuminating the stories, traditions, and enduring light of both Hanukkah and Christmas.

The evening features the premiere of excerpts from Yoni Fogelman’s A Festival of Light alongside Stephen Paulus’ Three Nativity Carols and Grace Miedziak’s arrangements of Siete Hijos Tiene Hana and Hanerot Halalu. Through music, we celebrate light, hope, and faith across traditions. The concert premiered last week at the Hillel Center at UCLA. The Adoro Ensemble is led by Dr. Jeoung-A Yum, our Director of Music.

All these events capture a sense of the joy of faith, which we celebrate this Third Sunday of Advent, AKA Gaudate Sunday. (Rejoice in Latin is gaudete and come from the Church's anticipation that the coming of the Lord is near.) 

At the 11:30am mass, with joy, we'll be observing the 40th Ordination Anniversary of two Paulist priests. Father Peter Abdella, the retired Director of the UCLA Catholic Center and Father Thomas Clerkin, retired Chaplain of the UCLA Medical Center. Both have served in various Paulist ministries before coming to LA for their ministries. With joy and gratitude, we give thanks to God for their lives as priests and Paulists.

Peace, joy, and love, Father Gil

For our immigrant sisters and brothers living in fear of deportation, may the Lord accompany them through the ministry of the Christian community:

For the healing, comfort, and peace of the sick, for Alexa Kierzkowski, Montana Gill, Jack & Vicki Phillips, Patricia Arias, Byron Adams, Tel Ramon, Mary Pat Cooper, Kate Dzierzek, Janet Platin, Catherine Gotfredson, Andrew Hinnebusch, Todd Wiench, Bernadette Tee, Estrella and John Monzon, Charles Candel, Joan Doyle, Marisa Kavanau, Carol King Wolcott, John Wolcott, Angel Appleton, Clark Gassan, Lohriena Lohrie Counts, Nora McCormick Heinen, Weldon Tilley, Paul Lannan, Mitchell Twersky, Erny Pinckert, Eileen Gaffney.

For the eternal rest of our beloved departed, Christohper Hudlin, Alan Culver, Laura James, Anne Marie Hannick, Father Greg Goethals, SJ, Ron Schuster, Bobby Burks, Father Jack Lynch, CSP, Arlene Havel, Phil Duncan, Michele Kearin, Father Brad Schoeberle, CSP, Mary Tokuza, Haruko Hiromura, Donny Kie, Cesar Robeniol, Nellie Scholar, , may they rest in peace.

For peace in every nation: may the light of the Holy Spirit transform hearts so that all may seek the way of peace together and comfort the wounded and grieving, let us pray to the Lord: