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.

This November 23rd we celebrate “Thanksgiving Day”, a very significant event in the United States. Let's remember some history: The celebration dates back to 1621, according to historians, after a painful winter where many English colonists lost their lives, it seems that the miracle of life became a reality. Thanks to a “Good Harvest” the inhabitants of Plymouth in the company of the Wampanoag natives were able to share food. Over time the celebration was forgotten and was later recovered during the time of President George Washington, likewise Lincoln gave it great importance.

Today the celebration takes on a lot of relevance for North American society. I think it is convenient to highlight the VALUES and Richness of said commemoration:

As the current liturgical year approaches its end this month, it is timely and salutary that we learn the correct answer to the inevitable question confronting every human person on earth ‘where do human persons go after death?’

What is your answer to this question?

In general, how do human persons of various categories grapple with this inevitable question that catches up with them day after day?

In today's gospel, Sunday XXXII of Ordinary Time, Jesus tells us the story of 10 young people who went out to meet the husband and carried their lamps; 5 carried spared oil for their lamps and 5 of them did not.

The husband arrived and the doors were opened for the party, those who went to buy more oil for their lamps when they returned to meet the husband they found that the party had started, and the door was closed, they could not enter the banquet.

Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille was a woman of faith, perseverance, and service who dedicated her life to the people of New Orleans. Her courage, compassion, and dedication to the oppressed was a shining example of what it means to live a life of service and love.

Biography: Henriette DeLille was born on March 11, 1813, in New Orleans. She was the daughter of a French father and a Creole mother who was of African descent. As a free person of color, Henriette grew up in the French Quarter, an area that was deeply divided by race and social class.

My Dear People of God,

Each October, the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month and acknowledges the first Sunday of October as Respect Life Sunday. As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable, from the beginning of life to its end and at every point in between.

During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life; and it offers an opportunity to financially support the efforts of the Diocesan Office of Family and Respect Life Ministry by means of the Respect Life Sunday Collection. The proceeds from the annual collection provides the following for your parish:

Greetings to my St. Stanislaus family!

Even though this weekend is the 29^th Sunday in ordinary time, October 22^nd is also the day we remember St. John Paul II, pope. He was the pope before I was born and throughout the majority of my life. He was the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years and how he changed the world in how he lived and how he loved the Catholic faith and Jesus. I was fortunate enough to attend world youth day in Rome, Italy in the Jubilee year 2000.

Calling all alumni!!! St. Stanislaus Catholic School is incredibly blessed by the many alumni that support and advocate for us. Many of our parents are alumni of St. Stanislaus who strive to build upon the tenants of faith, excellence and tradition learned from their years at our school. Without these alumni, our school could not succeed.

The word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in him “to go forth”. Abraham received the call to set out for a new land. Moses heard God’s call: “Go, I send you” and led the people towards the promised land. To Jeremiah God says: “To all whom I send you, you shall go”.

A few weeks ago we heard the following in the gospel of Saint Matthew: “Peter approached Jesus and asked him: "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy– seven times." (Mt 18, 21 ff.) What is deeply striking is the position of Jesus Christ: YOU MUST ALWAYS FORGIVE.