Dear Guardian Angels Community and visitors:
I am happy to inform you that as a result of our GROW pastoral planning program, a long-term strategic planning process, a new mission statement has emerged for Guardian Angels Catholic Church!
“Guardian Angels exists to reach out from the
Altar of Christ to educate, serve, and evangelize.”
As Catholics, we come together around the Altar of Christ to be nourished and fed by both Word and Sacrament. However, we cannot stay here, we cannot limit ourselves to receiving, for we are called to go back into the world and make a difference. One of the most striking images in Sacred Scripture describing God’s bountiful love and care for humanity is the prophesy given to Ezekiel in Chapter 47. He prophesied:
The Lord brought me to the door of the temple; and behold water was trickling from below the Altar of the temple and water was coming out of the temple and it was ankle-deep. The river was deep enough to swim in, but could not be passed through. Fishermen will stand along its shore and spread their nets; many kinds like the fish of the Great Sea. On both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary.
Brothers and Sisters, just like the image of water trickling down from underneath the Altar of Christ into the courtyard, spilling out into the streets from underneath the walls and rushing through the fields as a river of great depth and width, let us remember that our journey as baptized people neither stops nor ends at the Altar of Christ, for the Altar of Christ is not a point of arrival but it is a point of departure. Yes, each one of us is called to make a difference in the world by being God’s love amongst people, by being forgiveness for others, by being the fulfillment of God’s plan on earth, by being the light of truth in the world, and by being rivers of living water bringing new life and fruitfulness through the land. We can accomplish this by educating, serving and evangelizing. May God’s spirit of giftedness and generosity permeate both the minds and hearts of each member of our parish community, friends and neighbors to make a difference in the world!
Yours Truly,
Fr. Fernando Ortega ~ Pastor