Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

          Our Archdiocese has challenged all the Churches to opens its doors to the missionary aspect of our Church every year. This weekend please welcome the Dominican Friars of the Southern Providence. The Dominican Friars, priests and brothers, of the Province of St. Martin de Porres have served the Southern United States since 1979. The Order of Friars Preachers, a Roman Catholic religious Order made up of priests and brothers, was officially approved by Pope Honorius III in 1216. Dominican friars were formally established in the United States in 1805 by Fr. Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P. More than two hundred years later, over 850 Dominican friars are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the United States. With over 5500 friars in 70 countries throughout the world, Dominican friars continue the legacy of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever needed, in season and out of season.

           “Grant your faithful, we pray almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming…..” with these words we begin our Advent walk with God and the new liturgical time is set. The Advent season is a time of waiting and anticipating, not just the celebration of Christmas, and the commemoration of Christ’s coming into the world incarnated in the flesh of an infant, but also the celebration of Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the world. We start Advent with looking forward to Christ’s Second Coming.

          Now that the Holiday season is in full swing and there are several opportunities for our parish community to witness the love of Christ to those in need this season. The Angel Tree is up in our Church narthex and the angel tags are on the tree. The Knights of Columbus are sponsoring a coat drive and there is a constant need for donations for food in which SVDP will distribute.  Thank you for your generosity.

          The next opportunity for you to give is to the parish itself. The 2019 STHY gift list is out and this presents a great opportunity to support our parish in a special way to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. Check out the list in the bulletin or Sthaycinth.org and see how you can share the gift of Christmas with STHY.  

          With the busy times of Thanksgiving and the Season of Advent right around the corner, enrolling in Faith Direct today is a great way to ensure your gifts of treasure to St. Hyacinth are received even if you may be out of town.  Please pick up an enrollment form located on the information table in the narthex, from the parish office, or enroll online at www.faithdirect.net our Church Code is TX526.  Already using Faith Direct?  Don't forget to add your Christmas or End-of-Year contributions to your account this season. Thank you for your support and for using Faith Direct!

          The anointing of the sick is administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during times of illness and to those who are about to undergo a serious operation. The anointing of the sick is a rite that is performed to convey God’s grace to the recipient, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Catechism teaches, "This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament.

          STHY offers a Healing Mass on the First Saturdays of every month. The next Healing Mass will be held on December 7th  at 8:00 am.   If you are in need of the graces of the sacrament, I am encouraging you to come to this special Mass for prayer.

          This year the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is NOT a Holy Day of obligation, however, for those who still want to honor our Blessed Mother, there will be a special Mass on Monday evening December 9th at 7:00 pm to commemorate this special day.

          STHY will have our annual Advent Penance Service on Tuesday December 10th at 7:00 pm in the Church.  We will have multiple priest confessors available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation that night. I encourage you to come and experience this most powerful and healing sacrament. Especially if you haven’t been to confession in a long time, now would be an ideal time to come and be reconciled to God and the Church. It would be a great way to start off the new liturgical year and get yourself in the right frame of mind for the approaching holidays.

God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels