Fr Ed Homily 12-12-20

Beware the scammers! This past year the scammers have been working over time. For the last six months I have gotten emails, texts, and phone calls from many of you advising me that someone is running another scam. Of course what they want is money. Or worse, a way to attack your identity. And because it is Christmas these scammers must think it would be an easier time to get people to respond to them if you think it is a priest trying to contact you. The basic rule of thumb is this. Delete! Delete! Delete! If I were to ask for assistance or funds it would be done at the end of mass. Or I would talk to you personally, I would set up a time to meet you. You would know why, how, and where. I do not ask for assistance through the emails or texts until we have started a program. And then it is to report to you what we have received. And to thank you.

Remember, my contact information is out there. It is on the website. It is on every email I send. It is on every letter that goes out with Church letterhead. I have seen where the scammers have changed one letter in my last name or added an extra letter. My email is long, fatheredanderson@gmail.com. The reason for this is because you can spot a fake instantly. Most scammers will think I use Fr or Rev or some other variation.

The last line of defense for you is our Cluster Office staff. They know my contact information. They know all of the programs we have running. I share with them openly. They can spot the fake emails or texts. They can also contact me knowing I will respond in minutes. Contact any of them if you think or suspect you have a fake request from me.

Today is also the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Spanish speaking community has been busy decorating the statue of our Lady of Guadalupe in our Church. It looks beautiful. Here is a little background about this feast day.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
St. Juan Diego, a humble Aztec peasant, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Hill of Tepeyac near present-day Mexico City on December 9, 1531, the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the time. After a request by the bishop to prove her identity, Our Lady asked Juan Diego to gather the roses which he found growing on the hill, which were neither native to the area nor in season, and take them to the bishop. Juan Diego did so and placed the roses in his tilma (or cloak). Upon opening the tilma to reveal the miraculous roses to the bishop, there was something even more miraculous present—an image of the Virgin Mary dressed as a pregnant Aztec princess. The various design elements on the tilma read like a codex to the Aztecs, revealing to them the truth of the Catholic faith preached by the missionary priests. Millions quickly converted to the Catholic Church as a result. This apparition and image is venerated under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the first Marian apparition in the New World, and the only one where Our Lady produced an image of herself. The perfectly preserved tilma is venerated at her basilica and shrine in Mexico City. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas, the New Evangelization, and unborn children. Her feast day is December 12th.

May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen