This Sunday marks the solemnity of the Epiphany. In some cultures this is referred to as “little Christmas”. On this day what we celebrate is what we celebrated on Christmas which is the manifestation of God’s love, Jesus Christ, being physically present in our world. His birth presents humanity with a new sense of hope. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your Light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” The light that shines, Jesus Christ, is the hope for humanity. It is this light, Jesus Christ, in which God will provide, as Isaiah wrote, a light that will guide nations to a universal response to God, when all peoples and all nations will come together to live in faith and mutual respect.

 This hope expressed by Isaiah to become a reality we are invited to imitate the magi, let us give our love, fidelity, perseverance and sincerity to Jesus. Let us offer Him our prayers and our human weaknesses too. But specifically, like the magi and according to Bishop Socrates Villegas in his, Love Like Jesus, let us have the three S of this Feast of Epiphany. The first S is, to See. The wise men saw the star and they followed. God tells us not to see with our physical eyes but to see with our hearts because God is in our hearts, His favorite place within us.

The second S is Search. The wise men were searching for Christ. They wanted to find the meaning of life and they found it in Christ and in living for others. God wants us to live an exciting life and not just be satisfied with the monotony and the boredom of life. The last S is Submit or to obey. The wise men did this once they found Jesus and offered to Him the best of everything. Let us submit to His will and authority because His will and authority are the best for us.

Let us see, search and submit and surely we will find what we have been looking for all these years.

Happy New Year to All

   I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year celebration on December 31 and January 1. I pray that the Lord will bless us all with a faith-enriched, peaceful and prosperous New Year 2018. Though the gift of peace seems far away we continue to pray for peace in our families, communities, our nation, and for greater peace throughout the world.

In Christ,

Fr. Henry Rebello SAC

Wishing you one and all A Happy New Year – 2018. Who knows what’s ahead of us in this New Year. No one knows what the New Year will bring. The one certain about the future is its uncertainty. But as we enter into the unknown, the church gives us, on this New Year’s Day, a feast in honor of Mary, the Mother of God; because Mary is, in a unique way, the woman of faith. Because her faith can inspire us to have the kind of faith we need for our journey into the unknown. And so as we begin this New Year, we need to have faith and believe in God’s plans for us, Faith to know that God will have the best for us.

 May God continue to walk with us on our journey each day of the New Year, and may He fill us with the gifts of Faith, Love, Peace and Joy.

God Bless you all.

Fr. Socorro Fernandes, SAC.

 A special thank you from your priests:

At this time of the year we would like to thank everyone who has treated us so kindly with love, greetings, gifts, prayers and best wishes. We also extend our thanks to all those who have contributed to make our Advent and Christmas liturgies so meaningful.

 The simple beauty of our parish celebrations comes together because of the rich personal gifts, talents and dedication of many in our parish, including decorators, musicians and choir members, ushers and altar servers, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and sacristans. Thanks to parents for encouraging their children to take part in the Nativity play and the children’s choir. Words of gratitude to members of St. Vincent dePaul Conference, and Christian Service Committee, who were busy reaching out to various people and groups. Thanks also to all those who gave so generously in order to make someone else’s Christmas more joyful either by taking a tag from the Christmas tree or by donating to help a needy family. We would also like to mention our appreciation to our parish and school staff who give of themselves so generously through their dedicated service. For those of you who attended our celebrations and made it so lively by actively taking part in it – we want to say Thank You. Sincere thanks to all who have so generously contributed towards our 2017 Christmas offertory collection. May God bless each and every one of you, granting you joy and peace in your hearts and in your families always.

 God Bless you all.

Fr. Socorro  & Fr. Henry

“For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” (Lk.2:11) With these words an angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds the good news of the arrival of the long awaited Messiah. Christmas is a time to reflect upon the great love of our heavenly Father and His great gift to all.  There is no greater gift that anyone could give than the gift of one’s only child. The celebration of the birth of Jesus is therefore a celebration of the infinite love of our heavenly Father.

The materialism that accompanies Christmas can make it challenging to keep our families focused on remembering the ‘reason for the season’. It takes forethought and planning to preserve the meaning of Christmas especially for our little ones. Here is just a thought of how you can keep the spirit of Christmas alive in your own family:

 · Read the birth narrative (Luke chapter 2) maybe before gathering to eat and thank God for giving Jesus, the greatest gift to us. Probably it is a good time to remind our little ones that gift giving is done to imitate what our Heavenly Father gave us on Christmas day. 

· Also as a family it is a good time to pause and recognize the special gifts God has brought to your family this year, and thank the Lord for the gift of each person in your life.

 On behalf of Fr. Henry and the staff our prayer for all of you, may God Bless you and your loved ones with a joyful grace-filled Christmas amidst family and friends. Merry Christmas and May the love of Jesus enable you to have a 2018 full of blessings.

Welcome

As Archbishop mentions in his letter “Unleash the Gospel” – “For evangelization to have its effect we must ensure that our communities extend a warm welcome to everyone who walks through the door.”

 I would like to extend an open, grateful heart of welcome to all those who will be returning back to this parish even though you have not been here regularly – you have 2018 to look ahead and to make new decisions. 

 If you are a member of this parish, I hope to see you taking a more active role in the mission of the parish “sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ so that all may come to know God”. 

 We also remember those who may be sick, lonely or bereaved and we pray for those who have died. May we share in the Peace and Joy of God’s presence.

 Christmas Blessings to all,

Fr. Socorro Fernandes SAC.

 From the School Principal

Dear St. Valentine Parishioners,

“Stay Awake! Be Ready! You do not know the hour when the Lord is coming” are the words to an advent song we sing each week when we light the school advent wreath. The children of St. Valentine School have prepared their hearts for Jesus by putting Jesus first and caring for others before ourselves. They have also learned about the hope that we have in Jesus. Students are working to see Jesus in each and every person they meet. In the spirit of giving and service our school children, together with the faith formation children, participated in “elf day” by giving a small monetary donation of $369.25 to help families in our community. Our 8^th grade National Junior Honor Society members held a pajama drive for Redford Interfaith Relief collecting 63 pairs of pajamas for families in need.

 Our third and fourth grade students have also worked together to present the Nativity which was presented on our last school day before break and will be presented at the 4:00 Christmas Eve Mass together with the faith formation students and the voices of our St. Valentine Children’s Choir. We have celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation in grades 3-8 and are so excited for Christmas!

 Our Christmas concert on December 19^th was a huge success- the children’s voices and our young band students playing holiday music has really put us all in the holiday spirit. An annual favorite is over 100 students on the stage together singing “Silent Night”. It is a beautiful sight and is a perfect example of the blessing of a Catholic School, a place where Christ is not only the reason for the season but is the focus of our school.

We are keeping St. Valentine parish in our prayers and request that you keep our parish school in your prayers. All of the faculty, staff, and students at St. Valentine School extend to you our warmest wishes for a wonderful, blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Mrs. Rachel Damuth, Principal

Our school website is: www.stvalentineschool.com