Many of us have encountered politicians who try to convince us to vote them into public office by explaining to us what is wrong with the system, what they believe, and how they intend to make our lives better. Some of us have also identified with certain political parties or ideologies because of the manifestos that define and moderate their political worldview. We may also have been lured into relationships with businesses and corporations who got us through compelling advertisements of their mission statements that assured us of their position as our best option.

The framing of the Sacristy areas has begun.

The Sanctuary area is scheduled to have the concrete poured today, Friday at 5am. The trusses for the transepts are being constructed onsite. The Chapel area demolition is continuing.

Next week will be the start for a number of areas. The contents of the offices were moved out and stored so the upgrade can begin in that area. Also beginning, the saw-cutting of the block in the Narthex to allow space for the new air conditioning ductwork, and the site grading and curbing for the southside drop off.

From the year 2019, and following Pope Francis’ directives, the third Sunday of Ordinary Time of every year is set aside for the celebration of the Word of God. The purpose of this celebration is to re-emphasize the centrality and absolute importance of the Word of God, not only in the Liturgy of the Church, but also in our individual lives. We are urged to reflect on the joy of the Gospel and invited to lend and commit ourselves to the universal and joyful proclamation of and witnessing to the Gospel values knowing that the ultimate reward for faithfully sharing this joy in our world and time disproportionately outweighs whatever cost we may incur and have to bear in the process.

A new storage container has been ordered and delivered. This container will be utilized to move the office furniture into allowing the offices to be updated with new flooring, ceiling and lighting. The existing restroom will also be updated to match the new northside restrooms. The offices will be cleared out by Jan 26, with work beginning on Jan 27.

With the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord on Monday this week, we effectively brought to a close the Holy Season of Christmas. The Baptism of the Lord symbolizes the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. On Tuesday, we were ushered into the first part of Ordinary Time which will continue until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when we shall begin the Season of Lent and celebrate Eastertide thereafter.

As the construction team is back in full force after the holidays, work continues to close in the building. The masons are completing their work on the building. They will then begin laying the block for our 2 signage walls on the north and south entries of the church parking lot, after the concrete footings are poured.

The pouring of the Sanctuary steps and flooring will begin within two weeks. Followed by the signage wall footings.

This weekend the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord. Epiphany, or Theophany, is the self-revelation or manifestation of God to the world. The first chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel attempts a chronological demonstration of the authenticity of Jesus’ Messiahship by tracing His genealogy back to King David, and farther to the Patriarchs, thereby establishing not only Davidic descent but also His unbroken ancestral connection to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In the Liturgy of the Catholic Church, the first day of every year is celebrated as the “Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.” On this day, when we thank the Lord for the blessing of a new year and look forward in hope for an abundance of God’s gratuitous gifts, the Holy Church commends all of us to the unfailing maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of Our Divine Lord, and illuminates some of her virtues for us to imitate. With the Virgin Mother of God interceding for us, we can rest assured that God’s benevolence will find us.

Merry Christmas to you! We celebrate today, after four weeks of Advent preparation, for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to reconcile us to God and to teach us to love Him through our neighbor. Our joyful hope is fulfilled as we commemorate the Good News of God becoming man, born of a virgin as the prophets foretold, so that all men can become Children of God.

The transept beams have been installed. The mason is working on the roof line of the transepts. They will be complete by December 29. The structural steel for the Nave will begin to be installed on January 9. The storm drain will be completed by December 27. The plumber will be out of the driveway in front of the Annex buildings at that time. The duct work will begin installation after the first of the year.

We are in the fourth week of waiting for the coming of Jesus into our lives. But do we really know what it means for Jesus to come into our lives? Are we aware that when Jesus is allowed into our lives, He is very likely to effect significant changes that will alter the course of our lives?

The building is taking its final shape and no longer looks like a box. It now has the beginning of the shape that we saw in the original video. We have been blessed to have a great general contractor who has been able to handle the challenges that we have faced.

The block work for the tower has been completed. The scaffolding was lowered Thursday and is being dismantled. All block work is scheduled to be completed in two weeks.

The theme of patience and joyous hope runs through the Readings of this year’s Third Sunday of Advent. We who await the arrival of our salvation are encouraged to do so joyfully, patiently and full of hope.

The new mechanical sub is onsite today to finalize the layout for the saw cuts through the block for the additional A/C ductwork.

The plumbing leak that was discovered last week has been located. It will be fixed when the plumbing team is onsite to install the main storm drain on the east side of the construction project. This will occur during St. John Bosco's Christmas break. We will be trenching down the center of the driveway which is between the new worship space and the Annex buildings.

For the ancient Jewish people, there were three boxes to be ticked in order to prove the authenticity of the expected Messiah. The Messiah would have to come from the royal household of King David, He would establish justice in the land, and He would cause the restoration of the incredible peace found in the original garden of Eden.

The tower is at 61 feet and the upper tower arches are beginning to form. The southside arches are complete along with the eastside arches. Significant work has been done on the westside of the building.

A leak was discovered in the new domestic water system. It is being tracked down and will be repaired.