First Sunday of Advent | Bulletin of November 30, 2025 Message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

My Dear Family of Our Lady of Lourdes,

Congratulations to all who will consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary and to all who will renew their consecration! The Consecration Mass is Monday, December 8th, at 7:00 pm, followed by the Candlelight Rosary Procession.

For us here at Our Lady of Lourdes our consecration is a fulsome embrace of the great blessing God has offered us in Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, as our patroness. On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes itself we celebrate the great ministry of healing that is Lourdes with a Healing Mass followed by our Candlelight Rosary Procession to the Grotto. As it was at Lourdes that Mary told Bernadette “I am the Immaculate Conception” we have chosen that beautiful feast for our annual Mass of Consecration - when we consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary.

By opening her life to us Mary shows us that we need not be afraid to give ourselves wholly to Christ. Like Mary at the Annunciation, we are filled with joy whenever we say “fiat voluntas tua” to the Lord and His Grace overflows us and blesses all around. Mary helps us to notice what God is doing for us and through us and to ponder it in our hearts. She helps us to come to understand the work of the Spirit and to cooperate with it. Mary is there with us when we are asked to stand with Christ on Calvary and she helps us to persevere with faith until the Resurrection comes.

Finally, Mary draws us into her own work of evangelization. She who comes to us, in our own time and place, to lead us to Christ so that we might share with her the glory of heaven moves our hearts to care about what happens to others. In our consecration to Jesus through Mary we go to our brothers and sisters, in their time and in their place, to share what we have found and to journey with them to a new life in Christ.

To be here at Our Lady of Lourdes is a tremendous blessing. We could have no better patroness; there is no guide more loving and sure. Let us each individually and in communion say “yes” to this blessing. Let us consecrate ourselves to Jesus trough Mary and live that consecration. Let us open our hearts to her, trusting without reservation that she will lead us to her son and safeguard our lives in Christ.

Msgr. Schwanger
Pastor

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