We're gonna worship and party on Friday

Friday evening in Nashville is going to be a celebration to remember.

At Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on Nolensville Road, 10,000 people are going to gather to celebrate this special feast day of the Mother of God. It is an incredibly sacred day of devotion and gratitude to Our Lady who appeared on Dec. 12, 1531, to St. Juan Diego north of Mexico City.

And it is a day of celebration, family and community.

Friday will be the first-year anniversary of this church that is a miracle because of the hard work of the Rev. Joe Pat Breen, pastor of nearby St. Edward Catholic Church. He has raised almost $1.5 million on his own to make this miracle happen. His congregation continues its generosity.

I've been honored to be part of the fundraising and am grateful to Holy Family Catholic Church in Brentwood and St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin for their incredible generosity in giving $25,000 and $100,000 respectively. My late mother, Vita Hernandez Chavez, gave $10,000 before she went to heaven last June. The votive candles at Our Lady's are maintained in her memory and for her three sisters, all married in Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Topeka, KS.

All now are in heaven with their mother, Luz Olmos Hernandez.

So Father Breen and the congregation of St. Edward will be there Friday. So will the Rev. Enoch Fuzz, my mentor and pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego to bring all the new and old peoples of the Americas together. So Nashville in its diversity will be at the church Friday evening.

Come early to get a seat, even in the gym. Friday, beginning at 7 p.m., will be a most powerful day of prayer and celebration. Our Lady -- through her intercession to her son and His father -- protects us. She is always faithful.

Friday, we tell her "thank you".