“Proclaim the message, insist on it in season and out of season, refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience, but do all with patience and sound doctrine.” (2 Tm 4:2)

Ash Wednesday opens the door for us to cross the threshold into the Lenten Season. The 40 days can be seen as the season of: the wake-up call! It is a time for us to reflect on how our sins have contributed to the spiritual darkness, not only in our own lives but that of society.

We have begun Lent, a time in which we are invited to search deeper into the paths of our conversion, on a personal and community level.

The Church defines that when a person has an encounter with Jesus, they have begun a path of faith and conversion, initiated a change of life, heart and thought.

Conversion is a return to God, it is the message of Jesus in the Gospel of this first Sunday of Lent “The time has come and the Kingdom of God is near. Convert and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15).”

When we are having a party at home, we take the time to prepare for it. We clean the house, we cook, we do some grocery shopping, and we try our best to make our house look the best possible.

The Church does the same. We always take some time to prepare the feasts. For instance, we take about four weeks to prepare for the birth of Baby Jesus (Advent).

Hello, people of St. Stanislaus!

Can you believe it is already February of 2024, and that Lent starts on February 14th?

I guess I am getting old as people tell me the older you get, the faster time goes by. Fr. Sergio has been back in Columbia since January 7th; I will be back in both Spanish and English Mass rotation once Lent begins because he will return just before Ash Wednesday.

My Dear People of God,

“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.”

This Gospel Acclamation of Christmas Day announces to the world that God is calling all of humanity, all nations, to adore him! It is a call to the people of our day and age, to acknowledge that, truly, “a holy day has dawned upon us in this New Year! We are invited in this New Year to: “Come and adore Him!”

All parents of students from Preschool to 8th grade for the 2024-25 School Year are welcome to join us and find out more about our school and the beautiful gift of Catholic education.

In the Catholic Church the Month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. Everything about our divine Lord is holy, including His Name. It was the Archangel Gabriel who first spoke the name of Jesus to His mother, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). The Archangel was only a messenger, so the name of Jesus was given to Him by the Father in Heaven.

This Sunday, January 7, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the revelation of God to the Gentiles, to non-Jews, “…we are all now partakers of the same promise of salvation in Jesus Christ”(Eph. 3:6 ).

Today's Gospel (Mt. (2:1-12) tells us that a star appears to the wise men (the name given at that time to men who studied the universe) and guides them to Jesus, to the Messiah and Savior of humanity.

Few things in a person’s life are as important and influential as the family. Long before we realize it, our families are shaping the ways we think and feel, the ways we act and react. The family is a powerful force, positively and negatively. If we grow up experiencing acceptance and love, we learn to like ourselves and accept other people. If we grow up experiencing rejection, however, we will have a vacuum where the heart belongs, or a spiritual cancer that only a God can heal.

II Corinthians 1:3-5

“Praise be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the god of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble with the same consolation we have received from him. As we have shared much in the suffering of Christ, so through Christ do we share abundantly in his consolation.”

It is curious how the fourth gospel presents the figure of the Baptist. He is a man without more importance or qualities that highlight it. It tells us nothing about its origins or his social status. He himself knows that it is not important. He is not the Messiah, he is not Elijah, he is not even the prophet that everyone was waiting for. He only sees himself as the voice that screams in the desert: “pave the way for the Lord.” However, God sends him as a witness of the light, capable of awakening everyone's faith. A person who can spread light and life. What is witness the light?

A Blessed Advent season to all of you!

As we enter into the second Sunday of Advent, we begin to hear more about John the Baptist in the gospel for a couple of weeks. John was the cousin of Jesus and the infant that leapt for joy” inside his mother Elizabeth’s womb. He knew who was to come, who Mary was carrying inside of her womb. And as he said as he was in his ministry of preparing the way, one greater than him was to come. That someone was Jesus, the King of the Universe, the Savior of the world, the one whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.

Advent is a time of waiting and a time to focus on our preparation for Christmas. Of course, there is the physical preparation, but more importantly is the preparation as we make room and space for Jesus in our hearts and in our lives. At Saint Stanislaus Catholic School, we actively engage our students in this preparation. In the classrooms, students reflect each day with Advent prayers and scripture readings. Many of our teachers use the Jesse Tree as a scripture tool and other classrooms focus on the role of Our Lady as the mother of Our Lord Jesus. We offer confession in school for our students to prepare their hearts and we read the daily readings to prepare their minds. Students are encouraged to put faith into action through their generosity for others in our Giving Tree and are led in prayers for their loved ones mentioned in our Angel Tree. All this is done so they can understand the true meaning of Christmas and approach this blessed time with open hearts.