Makes Me Wonder

After reading the articles in the Denver Catholic (November 11-14, 2017) written by Vladimir Mauricio-Perez regarding Auxiliary Bishop Jose Rodriguez' thoughts and another article by Archbishop Samuel Aquila on opening two new parishes, I couldn't help but think about Our Lady of Visitation Parish. Bishop Rodriguez states that he will celebrate a mass for immigrants and refugees on November 26, 2017, at the Cathedral. It is calling attention to Jesus and how He asked in Lev 19:34 to love our neighbor and not to be afraid of them. He mentions that there is no financial or secondary intention but rather it was "born out of our personal love for our immigrant brothers and sisters in our parishes."  My thought was that Our Lady of Visitation may not be comprised of immigrants or refugees but shouldn't there be love shown for the one hundred or so parishioners? The parishioners are 2nd and 3rd generation Hispanics and the mass is in English, though many of the hymns are in Spanish. In the 1800's people left their homes in New Mexico to try and find work and many settled in the "goat hill" area where they could work in smelting plants, railroad and a mushroom factory. The quote in the article fits the persons from Our Lady of Visitation as they pray and believe in the Psalm, "Commit your way to the Lord: trust in him, and he will act," (37:5) 

I liked the end of the article, "consider the problem not as a mere social, political or economical issue: we are speaking of men and women with human dignity and fundamental rights," he said, "they are beloved children of God." How wonderful it would be if  the closing of Our Lady of Visitation would also fall under his statement!

Then when I read about two new parishes opening up in Thornton and Green Valley Ranch I thought that Our Lady of Visitation already had a parish with faithful attending mass every Sunday and it had been closed. Granted, it is a small parish but from my understanding it was self-sufficient with no money coming in from the Archdiocese. Why could it not become a miniature quasi-parish? It puzzled me that it had been closed making the parishioners fight to keep it open. Attorneys are working pro bono to help the people, fund raisers are held to raise money for incidentals, and the people I spoke with were adamant about trying to get someone to listen to them so that the little church would be reopened.

To me, Our Lady of Visitation, represents what I have read in the Bible. There is a lot of brotherly love among the parishioners and after mass the majority of the people stay to enjoy socializing with coffee and donuts. It is a close knit community who welcomes anyone who attends their church. I know this to be true because when I attend mass at Our Lady of Visitation, everyone is friendly and I feel right at home! At the Little Church, as Our Lady of Visitation is called, there have been first communions, confirmations, marriages, funerals and social functions, like their annual Bazaar. As far as I know, it was a small, thriving community until its closure.

I may not have all the facts, my ideas may be one sided, but my blog is where I enjoy writing about my life and my thoughts. Presently, it seems as if Our Lady of Visitation has been on my mind a lot!