4th Sunday in Advent

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24) The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as ‘GAUDETE SUNDAY’. It is based on the verse from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, Chapter 4:4-5 where it says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” What does ‘Joy’ actually mean? Is it a feeling of satisfaction or having fun all the time or having no worries, or problems? Joy actually means to be conscious of God’s presence which is within us and surrounds us at all time. This conscious awareness of God’s presence is the strength which helps us survive the trials and tribulations of life. That is why Nehemiah in the Old Testament told the people of Israel after they returned from Babylonian exile to rejoice because God was with them. It is worth quoting that sentence from Nehemiah 8:10: “This day is holy to our Lord —— for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.” God did not abandon His people during their exile in Babylon. The reason for their captivity was because they abandoned the Covenant their forefathers, Abraham, Moses, Isaac and Jacob, had made with the God of Israel. The New and Eternal Covenant which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made with the entire humanity is the Holy Eucharist where we eat His body and drink His blood. What a heavenly gift!!! By being faithful to this New and Eternal Covenant, let us be joyful and grateful that the Lord is always with us. He will never abandon us! With that joy, we celebrate His birthday and wait for His second and glorious coming. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24) On this Second Sunday of Advent, the Church is asking us to prepare the way of the Lord by listening to St. John the Baptist who called himself a “…voice crying out in the wilderness.” This is an invitation to all of us to renew our lives by regularly attending mass, receiving the sacrament of Confession, and growing deeper in loving God and our neighbor. December 8th is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Holy Day of Obligation which means that it is to be observed like a Sunday. We have three Masses that day as follows: 8 am, noon, 6 pm . On May 17, 1846, the U.S. Bishops consecrated the United States of America to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception. What is the dogma of the Immaculate Conception? First, a dogma is a teaching or doctrine of Faith which has been defined by the Church’s Magisterium and proclaimed by the Pope as the official teaching of the Church as “…infallible and divinely revealed truth.” The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was proclaimed a dogma of our Faith by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854, ex cathedra: (meaning with full authority of the office of the Pope, implying infallibility) “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which asserts that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, was preserved free from every stain of original sin is doctrine revealed by God and, for this reason, must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful.” This dogma is the reason that Mary is so important to the Church and to us, its members, as she is not only free from sin but she is also the Mother of Christ. By virtue of her position as mother of our Savior, she is our mother as well. How fortunate we are to have Mary to care for us and for the Church, just as she cared for Christ when He was on this earth. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 128:24) We begin the Liturgical year of 2026 on this First Sunday in Advent. The Lord is telling us in the Gospel of Matthew to stay awake and wait for the Lord’s coming. It is important to note that at the beginning of a new liturgical year, the Church is preparing us for the Parousia which is the second coming of Jesus Christ—which will occur on a day and at a time which is kept secret from all of us. The meaning of the season of Advent is “waiting.” We are called to be waiting for the Messiah as faithful and dutiful servants. Let us give God the top-most priority in our lives as we wait for the coming of Christ. Let not the ungodly ways of the world influence our lives, our families or our children. At this beginning of our new year of worship and practice of the Fatih, I ask all of you to make a renewed commitment to attend Mass on Sundays, whether you are at home or are traveling. Be regular in your prayers and consistent in your charitable works. As a guide for us during this Advent season of preparation, we have books containing Advent reflections to help us in our preparation. They are available after all Masses. I would ask you to use these books as a guide in your preparation for the arrival of the Christ child. We will be starting Eucharistic Adoration on Monday evenings once a month. This will give those who have commitments during the day an opportunity to participate in the Adoration of the Lord. I invite parents to bring your children and teenagers to this Eucharistic Adoration and participate as a family. We will advise you of these up-coming dates. God bless you!  Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118: 24) On this 34th Sunday of Ordinary time, the Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe which concludes the Liturgical Year 2025. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. In the gospel of Luke 23: 37 the inscription on the cross above the head of Jesus read: “This is the King of the Jews”. He is not only the king of the Jews but also our king and of the whole world. He brought us salvation and freedom from the evil not by shedding the blood of people but by shedding his own blood on the cross. The world cannot imagine how the king allowed himself to be crucified. The only reason is because he loves us so much that he died for us. As a gratitude, we are called to show our loyalty to our king forever. I have personally decided to be loyal to our king Jesus Christ and to serve him as his priest till my last breath. I urge all of you to renew your commitment and loyalty to our King Jesus Christ. On this solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, our Parish is cooperating with St. Rita’s Parish in Dade City to host the Eucharistic Procession. The procession begins from St.Rita’s Church at 2:30 pm on Sunday, November 23, 2025. Processing through the downtown of Dade City praying the Rosary, we will stop at the Court house for praying the divine Mercy Chaplet and Benediction. From the Court house we continue the Procession praying the divine Mercy Chaplet till we reach St. Rita’s Church where the Procession concludes. I ask all of our parishioners to please take part in the Eucharistic Procession through which we proclaim our Faith in Jesus Christ who is our King and God. Our cooperation with St. Rita’s Church for this holy event is an indication that we all belong to the Church which is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. The address of St. Rita’s Church: 14404 14th street, Dade City, FL 33523 God bless you, Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “ This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep”. (Nehemiah 8:9) On this 33rd Sunday of Ordinary time, the Lord is warning us about the end of the world in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 21:5-19. He predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem temple which prediction was realized in the year 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed the temple. All that is now left of the temple is the western wall known as the “wailing wall” where the Jewish people go and pray in mourning for the temple. Let the truth be proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the Messiah sent by Yahweh, God the Father in fulfillment of the prophecies of the prophets of the Old Testament. We continue to pray and hope that someday our Jewish brothers and sisters will realize the truth that Jesus Christ is the long awaited Messiah who came to save the world 2025 years ago. And, in accordance with His promise, HE WILL COME AGAIN. The Lord also predicted that before His return there would be wars and insurrections and nations rising against each other. He also predicted that there would be earthquakes, plagues, famines and other natural disasters. The Lord predicted divisions within families and warned us against false prophets who would mislead God’s people. Finally, he predicted that there would be persecution of His followers. Having told us the reality of the end of the world, the Lord promised His protection to all who believe in Him. He promised that although we may be hated because of Him, our perseverance in following Him would be our saving grace. This is an invitation for us to be faithful to the Lord until the end of our lives just like the Blessed Virgin Mary, who remained faithful to God from the moment she gave her ‘yes’ to her presence at the saving death of the Lord on the cross. Let us continue to persevere and to proclaim our Faith in the Lord by performing Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24) Happy Veterans Day to all the veterans! This weekend we honor all the veterans of the US armed forces, both living and deceased, for their selfless service to our country and the world. Veterans Day in the USA is observed on November 11th every year. As it is a Federal holiday, our office will be closed that day. Originally, Veterans Day was known as ‘armistice’ day. The ‘armistice’ refers to the peaceful agreement signed by the allied forces led by the United States of America and the rival forces led by Germany to end the hostilities of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The change of the name from ‘armistice day’ to ‘Veterans Day’ was approved by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 1, 1954. Since then, Veterans Day has been celebrated throughout our country with parades, prayer services and award ceremonies. PRAYER FOR VETERANS: Lord God, Almighty Father, we ask you to bless the members of our armed forces. Give them courage, hope and strength. May they experience your love and compassionate healing. Give pardon and eternal life to those veterans who died protecting the liberty of the people. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In honor of Veterans Day, the Archives Ministry in our Parish is inviting all the parishioners to come to the blessing of the historic plaque which has been installed on the front wall of our Church two weeks ago and the Military Memorial which was built by the Gude family in 2022 right next to the Church. The Blessing Ceremony will take place at 9 am after the 8 am Mass on Sunday, November 9, 2025. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, “ This day is holy to the Lord our God; do not weep, do not be sad.” (Nehemiah 8:10) November 2nd is the day of Commemoration of All Souls which is known as All Souls Day. This year it falls on Sunday, the Day of the Lord. Instead of transferring the commemoration of souls to Monday, the Church authorities have decided to observe it on Sunday. The celebration of Masses on Sunday will be in observance of All Souls Day. There will be no Gloria sung at the beginning of the Mass. The month of November is dedicated to praying for the souls in purgatory. Therefore, the Church encourages the faithful to pray for souls, offer Masses for their salvation and visit the graves of their loved ones.  We are also called to pay closer attention to the teachings of the Church on the following: HEAVEN: Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they see Him as He is, “face to face”. ( CCC 1023-1024) PURGATORY: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, purgatory is a state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for those who died in God’s friendship, but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of human imperfection must be completed before one is able to enter the joy of heaven. (CCC 1030-1032) HELL: To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from Him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell”.(CCC 1033-1037) I want to emphasize that our God is a merciful God who loves us so much that He wants us to be with Him in heaven. Finally, I want to thank all of you who came to the Ministry Fair last weekend and decided to participate in one or more ministries. Your participation not only helps others in our parish, but gives Glory to God. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24). I want to inform you that Frank and Andrea Gude have been chosen from our Parish as the recipients of St. Jude Medal. Frank Gude, who is 95 years of age, is the oldest member of the Parish and has always been one of the Parish’s most active and dedicated members. He has been singing in our church choir for seventy years and he continues to sing in the choir at the 8 a.m. Mass every Sunday. He has served the Parish as a Lector, Eucharistic Minister, as President of the Men’s Club, and as a member of the Parish Council. He was very involved in establishing our Sacred Heart Early Childhood Center. He has always been someone we can count on to get things done. Frank and his late first wife Rosemary, who also received the same award in 2014, donated the tabernacle to the Parish. Andrea Gude also has been a long time parishioner of our Parish. She has served the Parish as a Sacristan, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, member of Women’s club, Martha’s Table, and, recently, head of the healing ministry. Andrea was instrumental in starting the Human Trafficking Ministry in our Parish by inviting an officer from Pasco Sheriff’s Office to speak on Human Trafficking last year. Frank and Andrea are an example of doing God’s work in their every activity and we are blessed to have them as members of our Parish. This weekend we are hosting our Parish Ministry Fair after all the Masses. We have a number of exciting ministries that have been established. I urge you to attend the Ministry Fair and accept God’s invitation to become involved in one or more of these ministries. By doing God’s work, through these ministries, we put our Faith into action. It takes hard work to organize a Ministry Fair and to prepare a ministry brochure. My heartfelt gratitude goes to our Ministry Organizers, Mary Andrysiak and Kelli Crabb, our staff, Iris Alicea, our Parish Administrator, Jennifer Caiazzo, our DRE, and John Bard, who is in charge of maintenance for the Parish, for their roles in organizing the Ministry Fair. I also want thank Peggy Moffett, President of Women’s Club and the members of the Club for providing refreshments during the Ministry Fair. Please join your fellow parishioners in attending the Ministry Fair, and learn all of the ways you can serve God and your Parish.  See you all at the Ministry Fair.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,  “ This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. (Psalm 118:24) This weekend we celebrate World Mission Sunday. Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has urged all of us to take part in World Mission Sunday. I have previously highlighted World Mission Sunday in last week’s bulletin and asked all parishioners to help our Holy Father by generously donating towards the Missions in the second collection at all Masses this weekend. Who is a Missionary? The answer: All baptized Christians are commissioned by Christ to spread the Gospel and to be His missionaries. We are all Missionaries of Hope to the people we interact with. Some of us are called to go overseas to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard of Him, while others remain at home where they are called to live the Gospel message of love of God and neighbor. The charge to all of us-- parents, grandparents, teachers, Catechists, Priests and elders—and yes, even children—is to be missionaries in our daily lives. Where does our “mission” begin? The answer: Right outside the Church door as we leave Mass We enter into our own “Mission land” as we walk to the parking lot to get into our cars. We enter into this “Mission land” as we go to school or work and interact with others every day. This is how we live the Gospel in our daily lives. Another way of being a “missionary” for Christ and participating in World Mission Sunday is by taking an active role in our Parish ministries. There is a ministry or committee for everyone where their interests and talents can be used to serve others. As we host our Parish Ministry Fair next weekend, please make it a point to learn about the ministries in the Parish and become involved in at least one ministry. This is the way we serve Christ as His “missionaries”, show our faith in our actions and teach our children and youth to be actively involved in the Church. Prayer for Missionaries: Lord, bless all the missionaries, those who proclaim the Gospel in homeland and those overseas taking the Word of God to people in distant lands. Amen. God bless you! Fr. Bob Romaine