Dear Parishioners of Saint Polycarp,
We just celebrated Thanksgiving, and I hope you had a wonderful and grace-filled celebration with your family. For me, I am grateful for God who gives me life and love, and who brings me to you and knits me into this family of Saint Polycarp. For this wonderful gift of ministry, I am grateful for your love and support.
This Sunday marks the last day of November, and it is the First Sunday of Advent, which is the beginning of the Church’s liturgical year. Just as we begin the first day of a new year during the season of winter to prepare us for the season of spring—a season of new growth, the Church begins Her liturgical year at the tail end of autumn, a time when darkness begins to lengthen, to prepare us to receive the Star of Bethlehem—the Savior Jesus, who is the Light of the world.
On this First Sunday of Advent, the scriptural Readings call us to prepare to act by climbing the mountains of the Lord (Is 2: 1-5), to awake from our sleep (Rm 13: 11-14), and to vigilant for the coming of the Son of Man (Mt 24: 37-44).
According to the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, “Advent has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. For these two reasons, Advent is a period of devout and expectant delight” (nos. 17: 39-42).
At Saint Polycarp, the four weeks of Advent are filled with many spiritual activities. There are Advent reflections in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese; the Posadas hosted by the Hispanic community; other Advent events prepared by the Faith Formation Programs and Youth Ministry; and opportunities for confessions or reconciliation—that is, besides the weekly confession, there is the Advent penance service, which takes place on the Tenth of December.
I invite you to pay close attention to these spiritual activities that will be posted either in the bulletin or parish website, and announced during the days ahead, so that all of us, together as priests and lay people, can truly prepare well for the Nativity of the Lord during the Jubilee Year. Talking about the Jubilee Year, our parish will have a Mass to conclude the Jubilee Year; and this Mass will take place at Christ Cathedral on December 22.
Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your contribution to the 2025 PSA to support the diocesan ministries and, at the same time, to support our parish’s projects.
Together with my brother priests, I invoke the blessing of Our Mighty God, and the intercessions of Our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, and the Patron Saint Polycarp upon you and your family.
Fr. Viet Peter Ho
Pastor
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