Remembering the Holy Season

12-04-2022Weekly ReflectionFr Charlie Goraieb

Dear Friends,

My dear brothers and sisters of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, I am very pleased to let you know that your donations and pledges for the Adoration Chapel have allowed us to reach the goal. Your sacrificial giving and support will make the Divine Mercy Chapel a reality! Thanks be to God!! We are moving ahead with the drawings, the permits and all of the necessary approvals with the goal—God willing, of breaking ground before summer.

Because this will be a perpetual adoration chapel, some of you may have questions about security for the adorers. The plan is to install a coded entry lock that can be accessed during daytime hours by a code. At night, those wishing to enter the chapel will need to use a chip card that will be available from the offices. Entry will not be possible without the chip card, giving all inside a greater measure of security. And for further security, parking will be available right outside the doors. There may be added measures, which will be determined as we go along. But I simply want to assure everyone that the issue of security for all involved will be a high priority.

I hope that your Advent is off to a great start. The key is to pick one or two practices or activities that will help remind you of the real nature of this Holy season. As hard as it may be to stay focused with all of the distractions around us, our two Advent ideas are the historical coming of Jesus in Bethlehem and His Second Coming—whenever that may be.

One suggestion is to sign up for Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire Daily Scriptural Reflections. He is a master at capturing the deeper meaning of the Word and sharing it in simple terms. You can sign up at https://www.adventreflections.com 

One of the things that I am hoping to do for our parish is to invite some top musicians to play and sing some of our great classical music. Some parishioners are helping assemble a music series to enhance our experience of prayer and beauty. On January 8, Esther Witherell will return to play the Sonatas of Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. If you attended her Easter performance, you know what a wonderful experience that was. We also have Floriani, the classic Catholic quartet coming to perform in March. More details to follow, but I want to get this on everyone’s radar.

May God bless you with good health and deeper faith in the Christ Child, Fr Charlie Goraieb

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