On Christmas eve we heard the words from this Sunday’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”  Those words are repeated in the Gospel for Sunday.  I think we need them now more than ever.  It is so easy to let the darkness overcome the light.  I am so grateful we are starting our mental health ministry, so that we can attempt to help people navigate the inevitable times of darkness in our lives.
 
More than ever, young people need to know their worth.  The temptation to darkness can be great.  One way Our Lady of Guadalupe helps is through Our Lady’s School.  Our school mission is to help students know that they are God’s sons and daughters—beautiful to behold, inside and out.  We also prepare them for entrance into Catholic and other top high schools.  In recent years our admission results to these high schools have been terrific with 95 % of our graduating 8th graders attending a Catholic or private high school setting them on a path to success.  Our main mission is to remind students that they are loved.  As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we will be celebrating the amazing students, parents, teachers, and community that is Our Lady’s School.  Contact Mrs. Ziment (jziment@olssd.org) if you would like more information.
 
This Sunday we also will be walking together in a procession through our neighborhood.  Its title is “Standing For All that is Sacred.”  We will start at Cesar Chavez Park at 4pm and walk in procession—priests, religious leaders, deacons, faithful members of ours and other churches across San Diego—reclaiming the sacredness of our neighborhood.  We will finish at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at 5pm, where our faith leaders will sign a prophetic declaration, stating that we as people of faith do not surrender the dignity of our community or our neighborhoods to the dehumanizing actions of ICE raids or arrests.  This will be us choosing the walk in the light, the light that our faith in God brings us, the light that comes when we remember we are not alone, that comes when we remember WE BELONG.