. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .			Fr. Charles Puthota
	From the Pastor's Desktop
	A Message from Father Charles Puthota
	November 23, 2025
Dear St. Elizabeth, Parishioners

Feast of Christ the King: This Sunday is the feast of the majestic King, Christ our Lord. It's the last Sunday of the liturgical year. It's our belief that at the end of the world, Christ the King will tie up all the loose ends and bring the whole creation to an end and present it to his heavenly Father. Meanwhile, he is King of our lives today. He rules over us not with power and glamor, but through love and humility, through selflessness and self-effacement. He is the King who washes our feet and dies for us so that we can have life and have it abundantly. His Kingdom fills the whole world. His Kingdom values are often contrary to what the world cherishes. But the deepest longings and desires of our hearts can be found in the values of this universal King, Christ our Lord. Our dreams for love and intimacy, peace and justice, health and happiness-all these are the values of Christ the King as well. We can open our hearts and minds more fully to this King who will dwell in our lives and make us shine with truth and integrity. Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!

Quotes on Christ the King: "Christ, the King of kings, chose to be called your Brother." - St. Francis of Assisi. "O inconceivable goodness of God, which shields us at every step! I thank You, Jesus, my King, for the countless graces which You have lavished on me."- St. Faustina Kowalska. "Christ is King in the sense that He is the Truth. The Church has no other authority but the Truth. Her strength lies solely in the Truth." - Pope St. John Paul II. "Christ is King now, always, and forever. If we do not make him King of our hearts and thoughts, we will have no part with him in eternity." - Fulton J. Sheen. "Christ is the King; let us put aside all vain things that may distract us and look to Him." - St. Teresa of Avila.

Advent: Coming up next Sunday, November 30: With the feast of Christ the King, we turn our attention next Sunday to the beginning of the season of Advent. What a beautiful season of longing and waiting for the Lord to be born all over again in our lives! Let's get ready psychologically and spiritually for this intimate and semi-penitential season of Advent which will lead us to the new-born King at Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving: The fabulous, heartwarming, all American festival of Thanksgiving is round the corner, on Thursday, November 27. People all over the nation are getting ready to travel back home to be with family. Love of family and friends is in the air everywhere. According to AAA, 81.8 million people will be traveling between November 25 and December 1. Approximately 90% of travelers (73.3 million) are expected to drive. About 6 million people are expected to fly. Domestic car rentals are predicted to be 15% cheaper than last year, while round-trip domestic flights will average about $700. 2.5 million people will travel by bus, train, or cruise. lion) will fly. All that travel and trouble is to meet family and friends- --and give thanks to God and one another. We have much to be thankful for. Gratitude makes us better human beings and Christians. Gratitude makes explicit our human condition and our dependence on God and one another. It helps us appreciate the fact that we are not self-sufficient and that we are interdependent. It energizes us to go out of ourselves to think about others' needs. With our love and service, we can create better families and communities and help transform the human family. JFK rightly said: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day Mass and Collection: Thursday November 27, Thanksgiving Day, Mass will be at 9:00am. The collection we will take up at that Mass this year to "Gift of Love," a shelter run by Mother Teresa Sisters, with a 13-bed residential facility that offers hospice care for homeless men who are at the end of life without family and resources.

Simbang Gabi, 9 Days of Novena Before Christmas, December 16 through 24 at 8:30am Mass: Please contact Gloria Trinidad (coordinator), May Devera, and Beth Pasco to help make this devotional practice spiritually and socially beneficial.

Advent Retreat on December 06, 2025: Theme: The History of the Church in 3 parts and its implications. We start with Mass at 8:30am followed by light breakfast, sessions and lunch. Please sign up sooner than later.

Thanksgiving Humor: 1. Hatched? This guy goes to his doctor. "Doctor, help me! I can't stop acting like a turkey!" "I see," said the doctor. "How long have you had this problem?" "Let me think a second. Mom laid the egg in 1954......" 2. Baby Bruno was sitting in his grandmother's kitchen, watching her prepare the Thanksgiving meal. "What are you doing?" Bruno asked. "Oh, I'm just stuffing the turkey," his grandmother replied. "That's cool!" Bruno said. "Are you going to hang it next to the deer?" 3. A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead. 4. Grandfather Turkey: Just before Thanksgiving, the holding pen was abuzz as Mother Turkey scolded her younger birds. "You turkeys are always into mischief," she gobbled. "If your grandfather could see the things you do, he'd turn over in his gravy."

Happy Thanksgiving! "The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving." - H.U. Westermayer. Let our sense of gratitude overflow to our families, friends, and to all those who are in need.

Happy Thanksgiving! God bless America from sea to shining sea!

Your Friend and Pastor,

Father Charles Puthota