“Hope does not disappoint!” (Rom 5:5) As we prepare to close this Jubilee Year of 2025, whose theme is “Pilgrims of Hope,” we could easily become cynical. Our hope for peace on earth is dashed when we think of the wars and civil unrest in Ukraine, Myanmar and even in the Holy Land — where, […]
Bishop Larry Silva: Christmas 2024 message
I will never forget the bright Christmas morning when the faithful gentleman who opened our church for years did so, then suffered a fatal heart attack on the front steps of the church. Nor could I forget the Christmas night, when, after a lively family Christmas celebration, my mother died peacefully in her sleep. As […]
Bishop Larry Silva: CHRISTMAS 2023 MESSAGE
Bishop Larry Silva: Christmas 2023 Nativity sets portray the great event of the birth of the Lord Jesus, the great gift of Emmanuel, God-with-us. Although the birth of Jesus took place in a particular historical time and place, and although we know he and his family were Jews, Nativity sets often portray them with local […]
Bishop Larry Silva: Christmas 2022 Message
Get ahead! Be successful! You can be whatever you want to be! These are messages that constantly bombard us and that shape our lives more than we wish to admit. They all reinforce the notion that each one of us is our own god, and that we and we alone make ultimate decisions for […]
Bishop Larry Silva: Christmas Message 2021
2021 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Did you ever notice how many journeys were involved in the Christmas stories we delight to hear once again at this time of year? When the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to announce to her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, he also told her that her […]
Bishop Larry Silva | CHRISTMAS 2020 MESSAGE
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright! In what universe is this true in 2020?! We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has been financially, emotionally and spiritually challenging for many. Our country just lived through one of the most contentious presidential elections imaginable, and we are sharply divided […]
2019 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE: Bishop Larry Silva
Bishop Larry Silva 2019 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE They had to go forth from where they were most comfortable. Mary and Joseph, from the backwater town of Nazareth, had to travel to the little town of Bethlehem. While it was the ancestral home of the house of King David, and they were ordered to go there to […]
Bishop Larry Silva’s 2018 Christmas Message
Nuclear missile warnings. Hurricane watches. Monster waves and rising sea levels. Homeless tent cities everywhere. Caravans of refugees. Mass shootings. We can feel overwhelmed by so many threats. But when we feel we simply cannot take any more, let us hold the Baby Jesus in our arms. Let us look into his eyes and try […]