From the Pastor
April/02/2009
From Your Pastor
How uniquely special is this time of year for those of us who are members of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish! Palm Sunday marked the day when the people joyously greeted Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem, only to mock or abandon Him there a few days later. How lonely and betrayed He must have felt by Friday.
As your Pastor for the past three and one-half years, I want to thank all of the many good people who have continued to support our parish throughout these past few difficult years. Though we know that there have been a significant number of people who have left the parish (and even the Catholic Church) as a result of the damage suffered here, or in some other situations, those who have remained deep in their faith do so because they know our faith is not built upon individuals, but upon Christ and his numerous beautiful teachings. Among these teachings is Christ’s own example of how to walk along with Him, carrying the Cross that He allows to be placed upon our shoulders.
Many parishioners in our hospitals and nursing homes have been offering their own sufferings for the sake of the good of our parish family. So many others, too, parishioners and non-parishioners, have spent numerous hours in prayer before Our Lord in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, asking for the true healing that only His love can bring.
As we begin the process of healing and “moving on,” may the continued efforts on the part of so many people of good faith encourage others in our midst to stay firm and steadfast in the faith of our Baptism and to walk with Christ, knowing that it is only with Him that we can accomplish all that He asks of us. May those many good and loyal staff members, parish volunteers and hard workers who have not “abandoned ship” serve as examples of strength to continue to build up the Body of Christ in our midst. May we also remember to keep in our prayers all those who have gone in other directions, those who have hurt us, and those, including Fathers Skehan and Guinan, who are, in some way, in great need of our prayers; that through the meritorious suffering of Jesus Christ, God may draw all closer to Himself.
May the grace of this most Holy Week of the year be a sublime opportunity to offer our sufferings, weaknesses and failures up to the Lord on the Cross, and hope to be taken, as the Good Thief once was, to be, one day with God and our loved ones who believe in Him.
Very Rev. Canon Tom