The Mass is the highest form of prayer. It is a celebration of the mystery of our salvation, the un-bloody sacrifice and a replica of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church offers four Masses every weekend: Saturday at 5 pm; Sunday at 8 am, 9.30 am in Valencia and 11.15 am at Our Lady. It is important that you take some time during the week and plan on which Mass you want to attend and make effort to be there on time. You do need some personal time of prayer before Mass commences. You also need to have the patience to wait till the Mass is over before leaving. Some of us have been leaving the Mass before the Mass is over. Unless there is an emergency, leaving the Church before the Mass is ended shows a grave lack of respect for Jesus Christ who does not leave us all alone but promised to be with us until the end of time. Jesus asked His apostles “can you not watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26: 40).

Fr. Emmanuel has arrived at his home in Nigeria and is happily visiting his siblings, family members, brother priests and other friends. Nigeria is a very dangerous place for priests as they are often kidnapped, hurt or killed. Please pray for his safety while he is in his home country. Our thanks to Fr. Dennis Dolter and Fr. James Vance for celebrating the Sunday Masses for Father Emmanuel until his return.

The entire parish wishes to thank the Baby Jesus Padrinos —Mr. & Mrs. Mario/Cindy Archuleta, OLOG Peralta, and Mr. & Mrs. Armando/Sylvia Apodaca, Sangre de Cristo, for the beautiful Christmas decorations they set up at both churches. Everyone gave compliments for the wonderful job they did which included setting up luminarias on Christmas Eve. In our busy world, we appreciate the time and efforts these families took to make Christmas special for everyone in our parish and for those driving by. We welcome our new incoming Baby Jesus Padrinos for 2020—Mr. & Mrs. Ray/Teresita Vigil, OLOG Peralta, and Mr. & Mrs. Joe/Amanda Chavez, Sangre de Cristo. Part of their responsibility is looking after the Baby Jesus all year long and welcoming anyone into their home who would like to visit during the year. Thank you, Mario, Cindy, Armando, Sylvia, Ray, Teresita, Joe & Amanda for serving this parish! May God give you abundant blessings.

This last Tuesday from 7 to 8PM was the beginning of our second “book of the month club.” The discussion group will meet for six consecutive Tuesdays. The book is entitled, “Boundless Compassion.” Please see the parish website under “adult spirituality program” for the reading schedule. This book selection be a great way to begin the Lenten season coming up at the end of February.

The Liturgy Meeting has been changed to January 14th at 7 pm.

The Parish Office will be closed Monday, January 20th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will resume regular office hours on Tuesday, January 21st from 9 am to 1 pm. Thank you.

Friday, January 24 @ 6:30 PM will be our next “movies with meaning.” Our movie will be “Into Great Silence.” Please see the parish website where more information has been posted. On February 21st @ 6:30PM we will present the 1943 classic, “The Song of Bernadette.” Mark your calendars now.

We are in dire need of two couples to become mayordomos at Sangre de Cristo. You will only need to serve one month out of the year--four Sundays. Please, won't you help us to keep our Mission Church open every Sunday of the Year. The Lord will be giving you many blessings when you agree to help. Thank you.

We are seeking bids for the installation of a waterline for the Our Lady of Guadalupe Cemetery. It needs to be approximately 350 ft. with a 2 ft. yard hydrant. If you are interested in making a bid, please contact the parish office.