Dear Parishioners:
God had the wonderful privilege of choosing His own mother. Now I am sure that if any of us had the opportunity to do that, we would have been very particular.
We would have made sure that she was beautiful, without any faults, without any qualities that would have embarrassed us or others. She would have been made in such a way that others would see her beauty and goodness.
Her disposition would have been filled with kindness and generosity. Her personality would have been pleasant and pleasing to all around, except those who don't like goodness and decency.
Now, since we who are such imperfect beings know how to choose our own mother, just think how much more God who is perfect, would do the same thing. Our father knew from the very beginning that Jesus would be needed for our salvation. He knew that He wanted Jesus to become one of us so we wouldn't be so afraid of Him. He knew that Jesus would need a mother, so He designed Mary.
God hates sin, so He made sure that sin would not be with her from the very beginning of her life. He showered her with grace from the first moment of her life. God made her immaculately beautiful.
Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. IT IS A HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION, because Mary is the Patroness of our country under the title of Immaculate Conception. ALL Catholics have a serious moral obligation to attend Mass on Monday.
Tomorrow evening after the 7:30 PM Mass, we will have a very special prayer time to beg God's grace and make atonement for the sin of abortion in our land. The usual Holy Hour will be held from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Prayer will continue until midnight.
Abortion, starvation being the one possible exception, is the most dangerous threat to human life today. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, is more likely to destroy a human being than abortion. Chemical weapons, land mines, biological weapons, etc. will not kill as many human beings this year as will abortion.
There is no pleasant way to talk about abortion. It is a tragic element in our lives. We would like the issue to go away, but it is one of the crimes that cry out to God for justice. God sets before us life and death, the blessing and the curse (Deut. 30:19), let us then chose life that we and our descendants may live.
God Bless,
Fr. Bill
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