January 6, 2021, Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
May the graces the child God brought you on this past Christmas fill your hearts with joy and peace, and may this 2021 new year reward you to live out to the fullest everything that 2020 did not permit us.

With great excitement and hope, I write to you these words that we may begin the new year encouraging one another in good times and in bad times like the family we all are in this great parish of St. Justin Martyr.

I want to thank you for the unconditional support you have shown our parish, the financial, but above all the moral and spiritual, which in the end is what sustains us in this pilgrimage guided by the beautiful star which guided the Magi to Bethlehem. It was such a joy that in this difficult year we witness the same star that tradition tells us was seen by the Magi and stirred in them such a great joy when they saw it again after leaving the palace of King Herod.

My wishes are that we walk together this year supporting each other and knowing that God does not abandon us and that the Holy Family of Nazareth inspired us to do God’s will.

As you may already know our Holy Father Pope Francis has wanted to dedicate this year especially for St. Joseph, the holy spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and guardian of the child Jesus. Little by little, we will explore together the spiritual paternity of St. Joseph.

May God bless you and again happy New Year, 2021.

With affection, Fr. Sergio Ramos.
 

 

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My dear brothers and sisters,

Three months have passed since I arrived at St. Justin Martyr, and little by little, I have had the opportunity to have gotten to know some of you. I write these words to you to let you know of my gratefulness for your generosity to the needs that we together as a community has had to face during this time of the pandemic, and I can verify your great love for St. Justin Martyr Parish.

First and foremost, I want to thank you again for your support of the Pastoral Service Appeal. Thanks to God the parish goal has been paid. As you may know, once the total has been paid the rest comes back to the parish to use it for improvement needs.
Another reason I write to you is also to thank you for continuing your support of the parish.

Let me tell you one of the many experiences that I have had during this time: The other day as I was waiting for someone by the front door of the parish office, I happen to see a parishioner who was coming to drop off their Sunday envelopes. I introduced myself to the parishioner as the new administrator. Our meeting was pleasant and entertaining, and I was very glad that by chance I met this person. I know that many also do the same, but I have not had the opportunity to meet you, and I hope it will be soon.

Just like I offer my gratitude to those who contribute to the parish using the Sunday envelope and the offering basket during Mass, I cannot ignore all our brothers and sisters who contribute electronically or by Faith Direct. All of us together make up the community of St. Justin Martyr. Some being physically present attending Mass and those who stay home, and are spiritually present praying for each other.

Again, thank you for your continued support of the parish by any means.

With love,
Fr. Sergio
October 1, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
 

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August 31, 2020

Dear brothers and sisters,

Thank you for your participation at the Mass with our Bishop Kevin Vann this pass Sunday.

I must say I was a bit nervous since it is my first time as a priest in charge of a parish to receive the bishop. I truly felt your support seeing you physically present (quite a lot of you) and spiritually livestreaming from your homes.

There was a lot of joy seeing the body of Christ united with the head celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Again, thank you for making the visit of the Bishop a especial moment for me. May God bless you and every member of your family.

With great brotherly love,
Fr. Sergio

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August 21, 2020
 
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It has been a month and a half since I arrived at St. Justin Martyr. I have truly felt very welcomed by all of you, knowing that due to this new normal, we have not had the opportunity to see each other personally, or to celebrate together the wonders that God has been doing in our lives.

As many of you know, two weeks ago my family suffered the loss of my brother and this gave us a chance to strengthen our family bonds and appreciate the gift of life. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the expression of affection towards me and my family during these past days. May God reward you with physical and spiritual blessings to you and your family. Thank you for showing me much love as a member of the St. Justin Martyr family.

I would also like to give infinite thanks on behalf of Fr. Joe, myself, our parochial vicars: Fr. Nicolas, Fr. Alejandro and our priests in residence Msgr. Kerry and Fr. John for your commitment to the Bishop’s Pastoral Service Appeal. You have generously responded in the midst of this pandemic that has affected the entire world. Nevertheless, your generosity has surpassed the difficulties and we are so very close to completing our annual goal. Our goal is $95,000; we have received $94,677 toward the goal which is 99.7% completed and we have $145,571 in total pledges. May God bless you and that we may be able to complete what has been promised knowing that whatever surpasses the $95,000 will be reimbursed to the parish for our own needs.

Again, a thousand thanks to you. May God bless you always and let us continue to construct and sthrenthen our great St. Justin Martyr family.

Fr. Sergio