Did You Know?

Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on the First Sunday of Advent 2024, inaugurating the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims Together in Hope”. During this Jubilee Year many of our own parishioners – including our Youth Pilgrims last April and a group who just returned three weeks ago – joined the millions who journeyed to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee! For those who were not able to make the Pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee, each Diocese had designated “Jubilee Churches” where the Faithful could participate in the spiritual benefits of the Jubilee. St. Andrew the Apostle was one of the four churches so designated for our Diocese (which included St. Augustine Cathedral, San Xavier del Bac Mission, and Sacred Heart in Nogales). Our Divine Mercy Chapel was the focal point of the Jubilee and many Pilgrims from around the Diocese have made a visit during this Year of Grace. There is a Jubilee indulgence granted to those who make such a visit to a “Jubilee Church” and 1) go to Confession, 2) attend Mass and receive Communion, and 3) pray for the special intentions of the Pope. Please take advantage of this graced opportunity -- offered here in your own Parish church, and participate in the Jubilee as it comes to a close on 29 November!

We will celebrate the national Thanksgiving holiday this coming week. Join us for the ONE MASS at 10:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day. And before you begin your Thanksgiving dinner, you might go around the table and ask everyone to mention for what or for whom they are most thankful. Then remember in your family prayer your family members and friends who have gone to their rest and those who are not in attendance. Celebrating Thanksgiving for us, Catholics, is to remember with gratitude the Source of all blessings, and to pray for one another, with “an attitude of gratitude.” For Catholics, Thanksgiving is not simply the 4th Thursday of November, it is our approach to all of life! It is our “lifestyle” as a “Eucharistic People”! “In every circumstance give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ JESUS!” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)