Prayer!

Above, Fr. Ettore Rubin, the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe prepares to celebrate daily Mass in Spanish - as always, surrounded by his loving flock.
In a trilingual Church community, the priests of our parish face a unique challenge: Leading prayer so all might celebrate the presence of the Lord in the Sacraments of the Church.  In a vibrant and active parish such as ours, the priests must work as a team so all Masses, baptisms, weddings, funerals, reconciliations, quincineras, presentations, rosaries, and other Sacraments and prayer services are celebrated well in Spanish, Creole, and English. 

Fr. Patrick O'Connor, prepares in the sacristy for Saturday evening Mass in Spanish.  Given the poverty of the community, most of the vestments, chalices, books, and other sacramentals used in the Mass, as well as the buildings themselves, and pretty much everything in the Church are old and worn, and in need of replacement.  We like to think of them as well used in the service of the Lord.

The teens join in prayer, led by their friends, and Dr. Villarosa - a local Catholic physician and director of the teen group, in Sanders Hall, the original Church building, which now serves as a small parish hall. 

A teenager in earnest prayer.  The teenagers are amazingly spiritual in our small community - drawn to prayer, community, and to good works serving their neighbor in love.

Above and below, the parish spanish speaking charismatic prayer group meets after Friday evening Mass, and directs their prayers to the Holy Spirit - inviting the Spirit's presence to enkindle in them the fire of love, to recreate them, and renew the Church and the World!

Fr. Jean Woady Louis preaches the Word, at the 10:15 AM  French Creole Mass on Sunday.  Often other priests from Haiti come to visit, and concelebrate at the Mass with Fr. Woady. 

Some of the Haitian Creole faithful during the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist.

Above Mass is celebrated in Spanish in our daily Mass chapel.  Daily Mass is celebrated in the evenings at 7 and 8 PM instead of in the mornings, because many of the parishioners leave very early to work in the fields, and do not return until the night.  For this reason most weekday activities for parishioners, occur in the evenings.

Above, at night, a man lights a candle and prays in the simple grotto of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The shrine is a center of prayer, day and night, for people seeking a quiet and reverent place to commune with the Lord, and ask Mary for her prayers and assistance.

Above, Fr. Woady gives a firey and powerful sermon in Creole to the Haitian community.  The homily is a tremendous opportunity for the priests of Our Lady of Guadalupe to preach the Word, to proclaim the Good News of the love and forgiveness of God, to teach the maxims of our Faith, and to give solace to a suffering community, as well as challenge the community to action.

A Guatemalan parishioner in deep supplication.  Visitors to Our Lady of Guadalupe often comment on how prayerful, holy, and devout are the people of this small community.  Often those who are small in the eyes of man are great in the eyes of God.

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