St. Matthew Catholic Church

Weekly Message     

Advent: Preparing Our Path for Peace 

Dear brothers and sisters,   

      God’s peace is never accidental. It is always planned and prepared, sown long before we can see it. Salvation history shows that whenever humanity feels lost, God quietly begins clearing a path— softening hearts, raising up unlikely instruments, and sending signs of tender protection. This week, two of the Church’s feasts reveal this beautifully: the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

     The Immaculate Conception is God’s first whisper of peace. Before Christ is even conceived, Mary is conceived without sin. God prepares His peace not by condemning the world but by creating a heart so pure that the Prince of Peace can enter it. In Mary, God shows that peace requires a space free from fear, shame, and violence, a heart capable of saying “Yes” without hesitation. Mary becomes that space. He first gives grace. He prepares us to receive Him.

     In 1531, the indigenous people of Mexico were crushed by violence, disease, and humiliation. Yet peace arrived not through an army, not through a law, but through a humble indigenous man, Juan Diego, and a Mother who appeared with the features, dress, and language of the native people. God was preparing a new way: a message of dignity for the oppressed, Mary’s words to Juan Diego remain God’s promise of peace to us: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” Peace begins when we know we are not alone.

     Both feasts point to the same truth: Mary’s mission is always to lead us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Just as God prepared Mary, He prepares us, quietly, gently, patiently. Let us make space for Jesus.

Blessings!

Msgr. Xavier Pappu
                                      Insert:  Giving to God/Dar a Dios.pdf

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