Welcome to the Church of the Nativity family. Since its dedication on October 21, 1989, our community has faithfully committed to our mission: We are a praying, learning and caring community fulfilling the mission God gives us in baptism by our worship in faith, by our witness in hope, and by our service in love. We invite you to journey with our community in Christ, thus will be said, “Day by Day the Lord added to their number” (Acts 2:47). Our Nativity School is led by faith-filled, loving professional staff who provide not only excellence in academics for our children so that they may excel in life, but help cultivate and form our children to come to know, love and serve God through the gifts God has blessed each of them. We are a Dynamic Parish and look forward to walking with you and your family to pray, worship, and give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us. In joy and in sorrow, we will live out together the witness of faith, hope and charity. At the Church of the Nativity, there will always be room “in the inn” (Luke 2,7).
Greetings in the Lord
We entered into the joyful celebration of the season of Lent four days ago with the liturgical celebration of Ash Wednesday. This season is a joyful forty days preparation for the celebration of the Paschal Triduum, or three day holy days the make us remember the saving mystery of the Passover of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In this season there are six Sundays that the Church has provided us to reflect on the word of God besides the celebration of the Eucharist so that we can seriously and thoroughly prepares ourselves, both as individuals and members of a community, for the renewal of our baptismal vows in the liturgical celebration at Easter Vigil.
Just like what we did in the past Lenten season, we are supposed to do three very significant activities in this joyful preparation. These are deep personal and communal prayers, sincere and generous charitable expression of our love for our neighbor, especially those who are in real need, and finally, compassionate and voluntary self-sacrifice through fasting and abstinence. This period of Lent, celebrated with joyfully will lead us to a very meaningful celebration of Easter which is “the most joyous and solemn feast of the entire liturgical year.”
“The First Sunday of the Lenten journey reveals our condition as human beings here on earth. The victorious battle against temptation, the starting point of Jesus’ mission, is an invitation to become aware of our own fragility in order to accept the Grace that frees us from sin and infuses new strength in Christ – the way, the truth and the life. It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle ‘against ruling forces who are maters of the darkness in this world’ (Eph. 6:12), in which the devil is at work and never tires – even today – of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil.” (Benedict XVI)
Indeed the readings of today’s liturgy make us really conscious and aware that in the world today the temptations for riches, power and glory are real, forceful and pervasive. We are living in a world where often the gospel message that the “Sermon on the Mount,” or the beatitudes is truly put into test. There really exist strong and seductive allurements of the world from its sincere accomplishment in our personal and communal lives as disciples of Jesus. There are times that we fail in our Christian living of the gospel message of perfection, yet the triumph that Jesus has manifested in the desert should strengthen us and make us confident that although we cannot surmount the temptation of the devil by our own personal strength, the devil was overcome by Christ and can be overcome by us with the power that Christ has shared with us through baptism.
The first Sunday of Lent is a reminder that life in the world for every Christian is a constant battle between us and the Evil one. It is also an assurance that the Evil One has been conquered totally by Jesus Christ Himself. However, this conquest can also happen in our own personal a communal battle with the banner of Jesus as our guide and constant reminder of his triumph and victory. Let us, therefore, open our hearts and minds to Jesus during this holy season of Lent so that we may persevere in valley of tears until we finally come in communion with Him forever and ever.