My Dear Friends,

It is such a blessing to be a witness to so many miracles of love in our parish. Yes, we gather together every Sunday to behold the miracle of the Eucharist where Christ becomes really present at the altar, but that spurs so many of our parishioners to go and perform miracles of their own in our community. Let me share just a few: 

• Many of you probably saw on our parish Instagram 10 days ago that one of our parishioners, who was baptized last Easter, has taken the time to donate her artistic talents to touching up the figures of our Nativity Scene. The amount of love and detail that she has poured out into this work is edifying. She spent almost a week just on our Blessed Mother making sure she looked perfect. When we bless the Nativity Scene on our church lawn at the end of the month, we all be witnesses of this labor of love. 
• A school family who runs a tile store here in Coral Gables wanted to give back to the community, and they donated the beautiful gold tile that now adorns the back wall of our Adoration Chapel. The work was done earlier this week and is simply magnificent. It is befitting of our Lord enthroned in that sacred space. Please reward their overwhelming generosity by using their services the next time you need tile, wood floors, or cabinets done in your home. Their business is Contempo Coverings: contempocoverings.com. 
• Our Knights of Columbus and Emmaus brothers and sisters showing up to just about any parish event to do the heavy lifting. Last month they made the Respect Life Brunch an overwhelming success, and last week they arrived in great numbers to help our Carmelite Sisters move into their new convent. The Sisters were so moved by so many families that came to help them, and we didn’t even announce this! It just simply travelled by word of mouth. This is the good kind of “parish gossip” especially when it’s to help our Sisters. 
• Another parishioner who donated several high-quality outdoor pathway lights to better illuminate our exterior church walkways, providing a beautiful safety enhancement for our outdoor spaces. 
• The family who financially helps out unwed mothers who are contemplating abortions and continue to help that mother long after the child is born. 
• The Eucharist Minister(s) who quietly take Holy Communion to so many elderly in local nursing homes or Adult Living Facilities. 
• The ladies who make prayer shawls for the sick.
• The families who set up “meal trains” when another family has suffered the loss of a loved one or their child is sick or in the hospital. 
• The volunteers from our parish who go to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital every day to perform random acts of kindness.
• The families who come up to me or one of the priests or one of the Sisters and simply say, “Here’s a check. Use it for whatever you need.” 
• The countless parishioners who spend hours in our church or adoration chapel simply praying for you! 

To quote the end of the gospel of John: “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).” 

These nameless parishioners I just referenced are indeed the hands and feet of Jesus, and Father Andrew and I could fill volumes with the miracles of love that we witness every day. There are so many more that I could have mentioned. In this month of giving thanks, I ask all of you to give thanks for these quiet acts of generosity towards this community. Little Flower is blessed to have so many saints-in-the-making who show us the wondrous face of Jesus Christ. 

God bless you all,