Our Parish Mission — ‘Nuestra Senora de La Luz’ (Our Lady of the Light) is a community that comes together to model Jesus to all peoples by addressing physical concerns and spiritual matters, and to do as Jesus did, giving everything to bring people into a closer relationship with God, in celebration.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GAUDETE SUNDAY, YEAR A

(Isaiah 35:1-6, 10): Joyful things are coming to our way; the eyes of the blind shall see, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a dear and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy. They shall come to Zion singing for joy. They will have everlasting joy. (James 5:7-10): Be patient wit one another because the coming of the Lord would bring great consolation and joy. (Matt. 11:2-11): The joyful news about his presence; “…tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, etc…” (The Lord hopes that we do the same by putting smile on people’s face through spiritual and corporal works of mercy, through our generosity, etc). REFLECTION: Let us forget our worries and make this Christmas joyful. Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the first word of the Entrance Antiphon “Rejoice”. Gaudete means “Be Joyful.” The liturgy continues to communicate that theme of joy with rose coloured vestments and readings telling us to rejoice. On this Guadete Sunday, I thought you would enjoy a couple of laughs. First a riddle for you: Why is Christmas just like a day at the office? Answer: You do all the work, and the guy that wears that big fancy suit gets all the credit. A couple were always fascinated by old churches and wherever they travelled if they came near an old church they had to stop and look inside. Once in a small town church they saw an oddly shaped bell and asked the person cleaning the church what the strange bell was used for. They were told “That bell is reserved for calamities, like fires, floods, or a visit from the archbishop”. Laughter fades away, but there is something that lasts and sustains us all the more: joy. Joy goes deeper than just being funny. We heard the prophet in today’s first reading telling God’s people, during an especially difficult time in their history, to “sing for joy.” They should sing for joy not because things were wonderful, but because God was in their midst. And we heard James telling us also to rejoice always. The scriptures give us different ideas about joy than our culture does. Our society seems to tell us that joy stems from what we have. The scriptures tell us that our joy comes from the Lord’s presence among us (because God is faithful to his promises). If self pity, guilt, unforgiveness, anger, resentment, fear, and worry work against our having joy, then what will lead to joy? We must decide to be joyful; otherwise we won’t feel good about ourselves. Lastly, I think gratitude is the final key to unlock the way to joy. And again, being grateful is an intentional thing, it is an attitude we must develop. St. Paul said: “in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” A heart that is ungrateful is not happy. This is not all that could be said about joy, but it’s probably enough for us to think about today. My closing words for today are don’t make yourselves so anxious this season that you lose the joy that can be found only in knowing Jesus’ love. The Lord, your God is in your midst. Jesus loves you, and so do I. -- Rev. Marcel Okonkwo.

Altar Servers (Carol Garcia) Dec. 14 - Raquel & Dylan

Dec. 15 - Mariah, Eniola, Tony

Dec. 21 - Aurora & Raquel

Dec. 22 - Ovian, Sonia, Gigi

Church Cleaners: Stephanie Rodriguez, If you can’t make your assigned date, please

trade with someone else. If the Church is not

open, please call Carol Garcia or the Parish

Office.

Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Comm.

Dec. 14 - R. Martinez & B. May

Dec. 15 - J. Mizerka, R. Garmon

J. Wiley, D. Chelgren

Dec. 21 - C. & N. Kline

Dec. 22 - C. Garcia, C. Klofonda

K. Burnett, V. Chelgren

Nuestra Señora de La Luz

Our Lady of the Light Catholic Church

P.O. Box 236 La Luz, New Mexico 88337

(www.ourladyofthelight.org) Office: (575) 434 - 9460

Mon. – Thurs. (10:00 - 4:00pm) Pastor - Fr. Marcel Okonkwo

Deacon: Andy Weiss DRE: Alicia McAninch

Ministry to the Home Bound: Janice Gillen

Food Bank: 434-9460 3rd Sunday of

Advent December 15th, 2019

Sacrament of Reconciliation:

Saturdays: 3:00 – 3:30 pm

Weekend Masses:

Saturday Evening: 4:00 pm

Sunday: 10:00 am (Rosary recited before

Mass)

Weekday Masses:

Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday - 8:30 am

Communion Service - Monday & Wednesday

Eucharistic Adoration - Thursdays after

Mass.

Anointing of the Sick - 1st Friday of the

Month

Mass Intentions Sat: † Bobby Silva by his family Sun: † Lucia & Fernando Pacheco † Donna Pacheco Mon: Communion Service Tues: † (RIP) Leslie Sinclare Emeka Nzeribe by his Mother Flora Wed: Communion Service Thurs: For the health of Annie Cruz by the Gutierrez-Salinas Family Fri: † Donna Pacheco by Virginia Gutierrez Sat: † Inez Lindenmeyer by her Family

Readers (Carol Garcia)

Dec. 14 - C. Kline

Dec. 15 - Children’s Mass

Dec. 21 - L. Valle

Dec. 22 - H. Sanchez & J. Matise

Please pray for those serving in our military

Major Paul Weaver (USAF) Jeremiah Williams (USAF) Eric Gayso - (Army) SSgt. Eliza Granados (USAF) Tec. Sgt. Robert Seaburgh (USAF) Markie Campbell Raul Martinez Jr. (USAF) Capt. Amanda Armijo Katherine Agnew (Army) Larry McEntire - (Army) Iraq John Gill - USAF Andrew McLaughlin Clinton Caleb Muncy (Marines) Victor Baray (Marines)

Weekend Collections Regular collection -

$3,152.91 Religious Retirement Fund

$452.71 There will be a Second

Collection for St. Frances Cabrini School this

weekend Thank you for your

continued donations & support.

Please Pray for the Sick of the Parish

Father Marcel John Herrera Stella Herrera David Kellar Martha Kellar Bob Kellar Danny Lucero Andrea Silva Clara Silva John Clute Marie Black Lane Dokken Lucas Gaukler Tilly Telles Diane Lopez Stacy Miller Lisa Gutierrez Sandra Wilder Anthony Lopez Margaret Brabson Tommy Garcia Bill Gayso Frank Borunda Ricardo Gill Richard Carroll

Parish Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 10:00am - 4:00 pm - Or by appointment.

Closed on all major holidays. (575) 434-9460(www.ourladyof thelight.org)

Poinsettias For Sale! Help decorate our church for Christmas by buying a beautiful Poinsettia! They will be sold for $5.00. It is a beautiful way to remember a loved one this Christmas. They will be on sale after the weekend Masses.

Religious Education News This Sunday we will celebrate an Advent Children’s Mass. After the Mass we invite our parish family for refreshments in the Parish Hall. We remind our parents that Religious Ed. Classes will not be held during the APS Christmas Break. Classes will resume Jan. 7th. We thank Fr. Marcel and our parish families for their continued support.

Our Lady of the Light Christmas Mass Schedule

Christmas Vigil Mass - 4:00pm Christmas Day Mass -- 10:00 am

serving in our military

Clinton Caleb Muncy (Marines)

Visit Our Website for Parish News, Events, & Photos! http://www.ourladyofthelight.org

Our Lady of the Light Food Pantry

The Food Pantry is in need of the following food items this month:

Hot and cold cereal, Canned pumpkin, Small flour and sugar,

Cranberry sauce, Canned chicken broth and soup, Stuffing mix,

Mac and cheese, Dried beans and rice, Ramen noodles, Pasta and

pasta sauce, Hot Chocolate, and Seasonal candy and cookies. The

Food Pantry will be closed on December 24th and 31st. They will

be re-open on Tuesday, January 7th, Thank you for your

continued support and donations to the pantry. God bless you all.

Movie Night in the Parish Hall “Our Lady of Guadalupe The Miracle and the Message” Wednesday Night, December 18th

At 6:00pm in the Parish Hall. Come enjoy this wonderful,

Informative Documentary Film. Refreshments will be served.

Come See the beautiful Christmas Village Display!

The Christmas villages are on display over at the Parish Hall and

can be seen in both the south and east windows of the Hall. Best

time to view this wonderful display is during the night time hours.

The display was created by Marguerite and Richard Engelhardt.

We would sincerely like to thank them for all their hard work and

Especially their creativity.