My RSS Feedhttp://www.stvincentferrer.com/index.htmlHot News!encontact@ricamarketing.comCopyright 2009 Ricardo Marino2011-03-16T15:12:43-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:17:53 -0400From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-03-16T15:12:43-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fbac79be2a3c049fcabf604502722ba2-104.html#unique-entry-id-104http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fbac79be2a3c049fcabf604502722ba2-104.html#unique-entry-id-104THANK YOU for all the wonderful support you have given for our 44th Annual Parish Festival! The fine leadership, the true spirit of volunteerism (doing without seeking a personal kickback or in-kind payback in return), the often overlooked efforts of the behind-the-scenes back-breaking, time-consuming and really menial chores (that actually are many), helped make this year’s festival a great success (despite Mother Nature’s rain-dances over the weekend). The pre-festival set-up and post-event break-down efforts of our maintenance staff and volunteers, and their constant clean-up during the event, helped make the whole program run smoothly this year.

I thank Festival Chairman, Gerard Olortegui, and all his team for their brilliant teamwork. The final results aren’t available as I write this, but I’m told that each day’s results were better than each day of last year; and the generous underwriting, including the last-minute cost of the $100 raffle tickets (selling for $75 outside last Sunday’s Masses), helped pick up the total profit for the benefit of our school children. For all the people who have made this possible, and for all who genuinely participated in this parish-wide effort, I will offer a special Mass!

Next Week, Steve Dudenhoefer from our mission in Guatemala, will be back to our parish to speak to us and give us an update on the latest events at Ak’ Tenamit. I think you’ll find this year’s presentation a bit different than previous ones. The following weekend, we will make our annual generous response to his appeal. The school has grown exponentially over the past few years, and its success has been such that the Guatemalan government is asking that the program be reproduced in other regions of that country.

Thank you for your sponsorships During next week’s Spring Break (the kids love it, though Moms may be at their wits’ end), several of us are going to travel to Tallahassee for our annual “Catholic Days at the Capitol.” It’s an opportunity to work with the Florida Catholic Conference to ensure that our Catholic voices are heard in the preparing of legislation for the coming year. While there, we will participate in the annual “Red Mass,” concelebrated by Archbishop Wenski of Miami and Florida’s Bishops. It is attended by most of the top state officials (no matter their religious affiliation), and we’ll get a chance to see Father Chris LeBlanc there, who served as a deacon in our parish not long ago.

When many of us were youngsters in Catholic grade school, we participated in a Lenten “mite box” program to help the missionaries in their work. Our pro-Life missionaries ministering to mothers debating about bringing to term the children in their wombs are asking our help. Birth Line and Life Line of this diocese are distributing Baby Bottles during Lent, so that our Lenten sacrifice might help unwed and other distressed pregnant women bring their babies to term.

Next Saturday morning, at 10:30 a.m., Bishop Barbarito will be present to offer the annual Anniversary Mass for Married Couples (those who have been married 25 or more years, and measured in 5-year increments). It’s an exciting time for these faithful couples and their families and friends to gather and offer thanks to God in a wonderful ceremony. Bishop Barbarito will return to us next month (on April 2nd) to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation to our teens who have been diligently studying and deepening their knowledge of the Faith. The following week, he
will return AGAIN, for the celebration of a Solemn Mass that will mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of our parish, on Sunday, April 10th, at the 11:30 AM Mass. Then he will return on May 14th, to help me mark my 40th anniversary as a priest. We’ll keep his schedule quite busy around here; imagine what it’s like for him the rest of the time!

As we continue through our own busy schedule during Lent (and despite the older signs on campus), there is no Noon weekday Mass during the season. We no longer have 5 priests in the rectory as we once did. Yet, the requirements of several extra Masses for funerals, weddings and children’s liturgies (allowing for a day-off for those priests who can afford to take it) and the like can put a strain on our limited resources. Occasionally we have been blessed to have priests from St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary assist us, but even they’ve been reduced in staff (though, fortunately increasing this year and next in the seminarian population).

We’re going to lose our longterm weekend help in the person of Msgr. Stephen Bosso, who has recently been named a pastor in his home diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. His appointment will take place in June, so we will still be graced to have him with us for the next few weeks. I, personally, shall miss his company, sense of humor and willingness to “go the extra mile” for our parish needs. We have been friends for a long time, long before I came to Delray Beach. His homilies always have been “on the mark,” and he has spent previous years before this as our weekend assistant. But, being the good, obedient priest he is, he answers unswervingly to the call of his bishop to serve in his own diocese, again. So, this is one more reason why I often ask you to “pray that the Lord of the harvest will send more laborers (priests) into His harvest.” God bless Msgr. Bosso!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-03-04T18:49:08-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/23aa1ce93f7b327e508207edd9a82293-103.html#unique-entry-id-103http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/23aa1ce93f7b327e508207edd9a82293-103.html#unique-entry-id-103THANK YOU to all who have volunteered to make this year’s 44th Annual Parish Festival a great success. THANK YOU, too, to all who have supported the festival with donations and purchases of the various raffle tickets. Above all, THANK YOU to the men and women who have underwritten the costs of putting on this gala that helps support our parish school in a big way! Not only have all of you earned the gratitude of our school children, but also those families who want to be able to afford to send their children to our Class A school!

We begin the holy season of Lent this (Ash) Wednesday with the celebration of Holy Mass and the distribution of ash at all the weekday Masses: 7:00, 8:30 A.M., and 5:00 and 7:00 P.M. Fasting, almsgiving and prayer are the three primary disciplines of Lent. The faithful as well as catechumens should undertake these practices seriously, in a spirit of penance and preparation for baptism, or as a renewal of Baptism at Easter. This Wednesday (as well as Good Friday) is a day of fast and abstinence. Fasting is to be observed by all who have reached their 18th birthday, through age 59. On a fast day, only ONE full meal is allowed. Two other smaller meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on Fast days, but liquids, including milk and juices, are permitted. Days of abstinence (Ash Wednesday and ALL Fridays of Lent) are observed by all who have reached their 14th birthday.

On days of abstinence, NO MEAT and meat products (e.g., gravies from meat) are allowed. If you have any doubts about these requirements, you may consult your parish priest. During Lent, our Stations of the Cross devotion will be conducted weekly on Friday afternoons at 4:30, prior to the 5:00 P.M. Mass. By the time we begin making this journey, we should see the newly renovated Stations of the Cross in our church, thanks in large part to Joseph Hughes. Like so many good stewards, he has volunteered his time, talent and treasure to help our parish.

An important liturgical workshop for Lay Ministry Leaders and all interested Faithful on the upcoming Revised Roman Missal (which goes into effect the First Sunday of Advent, 2011), will be conducted at our parish on Tuesday, March 29th, at 7:00 P.M. I strongly urge all of our Deacons, leaders of music, cantors, Youth director and parish musicians to attend this vital and informative workshop to learn about the new changes that will take place in the liturgy, so that you will be able to assist in the transition of the liturgy in our parish.

Catholic Days at the Capitol will be held from March 15th to 17th in Tallahassee. You are cordially invited to join me and Catholics from all 7 dioceses of the State of Florida at this annual gathering, to meet with our legislators to promote legislation that supports the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church. The highlight of the occasion will be the annual “Red Mass,” celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami (who will also be the homilist), and concelebrated by all the bishops of Florida. The cost of the package is $170 per person, including all bus transportation, box lunch, hotel (double occupancy) breakfast, FCC Registration and the Legislator Luncheon. For reservations or more information, you may contact Betty McKinley, Catholic Days coordinator for the Diocese of Palm Beach, at 561-775-9598, or 772-342-0837, bmckinley@diocesepb.org.

Thank you to all who have answered Bishop Barbarito’s appeal to help the very needy of our diocese through their pledge to the annual DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal). I appreciate your help in trying to achieve our goal of $200,000 this year. If you have forgotten to make your pledge, more envelopes are available by asking one of our ushers to provide you with one. God bless those families who are inviting their children to take their part in this appeal. You are teaching the next generation of our Church to be good stewards of their many blessings.

As we compile the latest figures, we will list the names of the people who have made their pledge to the DSA, and pray that those who have not yet responded to this call to assist the mission of our diocese to do so as quickly as possible. Even if you are a seasonal guest to our parish, we invite you to participate in this huge undertaking. We are here to assist you while you are among us, and hope that you will assist us in reaching out to others!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-02-24T18:18:21-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c395ade9088ea46da9e9db055246f236-102.html#unique-entry-id-102http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c395ade9088ea46da9e9db055246f236-102.html#unique-entry-id-102Thank you for the many pledges that were made and already fulfilled during our recent drive for our annual DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal). For those who have answered Bishop Barbarito with their gift pledged or given, may I add my thanks to his. For those who haven’t done so yet, may I take this opportunity to ask you once again - whether you are a regular parishioner or a seasonal one – to show your gratitude to God for His many blessings upon you, by sharing some of His blessings with those in our area in need! Pledge envelopes are still available in the church. Just see any of our ushers immediately after Mass, and they will be glad to assist you!

Let’s see if we can not only reach our $200,000 goal this year, but even exceed it, so that we can retain the overage to assist us in our own charitable work and parish upkeep. Know that God, who probes the depth of our hearts and knows our minds, will continue to bless you in greater ways than you can imagine because you have shared His gifts to you with others!

Our 44th Annual Parish Festival is only a few days away. The anticipation for the kids, the final details of the many preparations by our volunteers, and the support of so many of our parishioners should mean that we can envision a successful event for the benefit of our school. For those who are unfamiliar with the origins of this tradition, it began as a one-day event on St. Patrick’s Day to raise funds for our school. Now it has evolved into a weekend of rides, food and entertainment that pleases thousands of visitors to Delray’s biggest church festival of the year. It has taken on a very international flavor, with a potpourri of foods and music. If you have not bought a ticket for the $40,000 worth of prizes given away in the Grand Raffle, here’s your chance to be a winner!

We will also be entertaining a large group of our St. Vincent alumni, who are returning for our 55th anniversary of the establishment of our parish school. So we welcome all of you to support us as participants in our biggest event of the year, either by purchasing tickets, volunteering your time to help, or taking your chances on one of the many raffles. Pray that God blesses us once again with beautiful weather we need and the energy necessary for all the volunteers under the leadership of the Festival Chairman, Gerard Orlortegui, and his many gracious co-chairs and co-workers to bring about a successful event. We also thank our past Chairperson, Lisa Hargrove, for the tremendous work she did in carrying on this tradition for the past several years. Above all, I want to thank the many individuals who quietly work hard behind the scenes, setting up and taking down the many booths and items it takes to run it all, especially those who may not see their names written here, but whose work is seen by God!

About a week ago, Nobel Prize laureate and former Polish President Lech Walesa and his wife were in town for a visit, and were honored during their brief stay. I thank Joe Benoit for inviting me to be part of the welcoming group on that occasion, where I was able to renew an acquaintanceship that goes back many years. It seems that wherever he goes, President Walesa always proudly demonstrates his Catholicity and devotion to Mary by proudly wearing a lapel pin with the image of the Virgin of Czestochowa. How many of us don’t even wear Mary’s image or that of her Son around our necks, but substitute all kinds of amulets or kinky items that don’t give honor to Mary or Jesus, nor demonstrate our Catholic Faith.

The Holy Season of Lent begins in about 10 days. Here is an opportunity to step forward in our relationship with God and our neighbor by practicing various acts of sacrifice, self-denial and positively demonstrating our faith-inaction, especially by uniting ourselves to the merits of Jesus Christ. Our actions on behalf of those who don’t have the many blessings bestowed upon us, and our participating in programs that deepen our knowledge of Scripture and our prayer life are among those things which help us to demonstrate that Christ didn’t die for us in vain. His life was spent for us, and now we need to show Him that we appreciate His loving act for us by sharing in His work.

Each weekday Mass that I celebrate, I recall in the petitions of the Prayers of the Faithful the men and women serving in our armed forces, as well as the men and women who also put their lives on the line in domestic service to our community. It’s a pity that sometimes we don’t appreciate them until they are no longer with us. What a sad tragedy befell our own city in the sudden auto death of Sgt. Adam Rosenthal last week. He leaves behind his wife and four children, all mourning, along with many members of our police force. He was very well thought of among his peers and well-liked by so many members of our local community. Among his many contributions to the welfare of our people, he taught a self-defense course to help protect women, including a number of mothers and daughters of our parish. In his work, he touched the lives of many of our citizens, and his loss will be great to so many who benefitted from his loyal service to the Delray Beach area. I extend the sympathy of the St. Vincent Parish Family to his.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-02-21T15:34:40-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e37e49ae64b07309bf8d4aa1be72ec81-101.html#unique-entry-id-101http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e37e49ae64b07309bf8d4aa1be72ec81-101.html#unique-entry-id-101I thank the many parishioners and guests who made their pledge last week to our Bishop’s annual Diocesan Services Appeal, and pray that all who made their pledge will honor it. This is our way of saying, “Thank You, God, for all the blessings bestowed upon us in our lifetime.” This is our way of saying we will share our goods with those who have less, even when (and especially when) it means we have to make some sacrifice in order to show that we are only stewards of the gifts and other blessings given us by God.

As I mentioned in previous bulletins and even from the pulpit, we fell short of our goal last year and had to make up the difference of $38,000, from the Operational Funds that come through our weekly Sunday Collection. Maybe this year’s appeal will be received in a way that will show we truly appreciate God’s
gifts. Our goal this year is $200,000, and if each family could set aside a sacrificial gift of just $1 a day (or even 50 cents per day), we will make that goal, and even exceed it!

What is sometimes the most difficult task for a priest is asking for money, especially when the economy is at a low. I am so grateful to our priests who took the time to work the appeal into their homily. I am especially grateful to our Seminary Scripture scholar and weekend assistant, Msgr. Bosso, who gave a brief but excellent homily last weekend that made a great segway into the need to live the Beatitudes.

Someone apparently wasn’t listening, because they passed an (anonymous) note about Vatican II and preaching on the Gospel message.They obviously didn’t get the message (nor did they properly read all about what the Documents on the Liturgy say about the homily). So, Msgr. Bosso did with that note what I would do in similar circumstances.

A special “thank you” to the initial donors of our Ferrer Fund, who are helping us to meet the rising costs of providing a solid Catholic education for our students in our parish school. So far, the fund has reached over $50,000 in gifts and pledges! God bless you! Now we’re entering the last stages of preparations for our 44th Annual Parish Festival.

It’s a superb way of enjoying a weekend of food, fun, and festivities, while earning money for the upkeep of our school. Your purchase of the raffle tickets (either for the large $25,000 raffle or the $1 raffle for a series of fine prizes), and your volunteering to serve during the festival hopefully will enable us to raise enough funds to keep our school tuition level for another year. Unfortunately, we don’t receive financial aid from the state, so we count on your support of fund-raising endeavors to make it!

St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach will host its annual Friends of the Seminary Gala this coming Friday, February 25th, beginning with Vespers at 7:00 PM. A reception, silent auction and dinner will follow. This is the major fund-raiser for our seminary each year, and it helps to sustain the seminary in its programs preparing men for the priesthood and permanent diaconate, as well as other men and women to take their places of teaching and leadership in the Catholic Church. To make reservations for this enjoyable evening, call the Seminary @ 732-4424, or purchase tickets online @ www.svdp.edu.

Pope John Paul II High School is hosting its annual fund-raising event, this coming Saturday, February 26th. The theme is “An Evening in Tuscany,” and it features a dinner and auction. It begins at 6:30 PM, and will be held at the high school. You will enjoy a delightful evening while helping many young men and women in a Catholic setting to prepare for the future. For tickets and more information, call Jose Herrera (’01) @ 314-2133, or Jherra@pjpii.org.

We give a special “thank you” to our Parish Manager, John Krolikowski, and his team of helpers, who made the St. Valentine’s Day Reception for our Snowbirds last Sunday such a wonderful opportunity of getting to know one another. I’m glad that so many of our seasonal visitors decided to come and enjoy the occasion, and to learn a little bit more about our parish.

Just as Congress is beginning to consider several pieces of legislation that (taken together) would end taxpayer subsidization of abortion, there is yet another undercover video showing us the real face of Planned Parenthood. The first bombshell video that surfaced over a week ago showed a Planned Parenthood worker helping an alleged pimp and underage prostitute find out how to get access to taxpayer funded abortions and other services. In the latest video, a Planned Parenthood worker offers help on how to get Medicaid-covered insurance for underage prostitutes, and any abortions or other services, (whether or not they are US citizens).

For years, pro-life Americans have been forced to watch as their tax-dollars subsidize the barbaric practice of abortion. Whether at government healthcare facilities, in federal health programs, or even direct funding for the abortion industry, our values have been under attack. But conservative members of Congress are introducing new legislation to put an end to this tragedy and end ALL federal taxpayer funding of abortion - and they need your support!

The three new bills are the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act", the "Protect Life Act" and the "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act." Watch for or download information on these upcoming acts of Congress.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-02-12T14:04:19-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/ffd35f2258ab606ecba78ff5f521dd14-100.html#unique-entry-id-100http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/ffd35f2258ab606ecba78ff5f521dd14-100.html#unique-entry-id-100This week, we make our commitment to the Diocesan Services Appeal for 2011. So many of our people remarked how impressed they were with the new format of the video presentation, a means which offered us a greater awareness of the many ways in which our sacrificial gifts help to serve the most needy in our diocese, help benefit our own Catholic school, and assist in training the young men in our seminary to become priests.

So, now that we’ve been given two weeks to juggle our budget and to pray for God’s ability to guide us in our giving, what pledge have you made to thank God for the many blessings He’s bestowed on you? More than a few people are counting on your willingness to help them in their need. The video told a good part of the story, but many more untold stories are waiting to be heard and helped.

Even if you are a visitor and not a year-round parishioner, and are spending a few weeks in our midst (regularly or for the first time), I want you to “consider yourself at home; consider yourself one of the family.” The services of the Diocese of Palm Beach are here to help you while you are with us, whether you are ill and need to be ministered to, or find our reconciliation room/confessionals to your liking away from home. Every adult and every teen can assist our Bishop in reaching out to those most vulnerable and most in need in our diocese.

Take your DSA envelope given to you this weekend for the purpose of filling in a pledged amount, pray briefly again about your level of sacrificial giving, and then you’re your commitment as you fill out your card. If it isn’t a sacrificial gift, are you trying to tell God something about the great gifts He’s given you?

What an exciting Parish Mission we’ve just concluded! Could Father Patrick Martin have been anymore spiritual and delightful? I doubt it. I’m so happy that so many people took the time and the great advantage of the opportunity to be there. Giving up your scheduled activity and giving God top priority in your life is primary to our call to be healed and to heal.

There were well over 750-800 people who came each of the three nights! His talks were “right from the hip,” preached with great humility and love, and filled with so many personal anecdotes. Even those who could make it for just one evening told me how truly thrilled they were with his very poignant message. Wow! He’s going to be hard to replace next year. I thank Karen and Deacon Bruce Turnbull and their “helpers” for arranging and coordinating Father’s visit with us. We couldn’t do it without their help. God bless them!

Thank you to the men and women of our Home and School Association for conducting such a wonderful conclusion to our Catholic Schools Week activities with a fabulous Spaghetti Dinner. Thanks to parishioner Dave Valdez of Carrabba’s Restaurant, who created and donated the very tasty food, and chaired, once again, by Tim and Danielle Marten, who were assisted by a team of super-volunteers, the ambiance and the fun of the evening began there.

It sure continued with the Talent Show, where many of our young people had to opportunity to demonstrate their gifts from God. The super finale by our school faculty and staff, singing and swinging to “We Are Family,” was a highlight of my evening, and I suspect that of quite a few others present. We also remember the wonderful “Grandparents’ Day” part of the program put on for the benefit of our grandparents. What a nice way, in some instances, to have a surrogate grandparent to share the joys of that day. All in all, Catholic Schools Week was a fantastic demonstration of the faith, social and physical life with which God has blessed us in this life. Thank God, too, for the gift of men and women who believe in the value of Catholic school education.

We welcome our seasonal visitors (often called “snowbirds”) to a St. Valentine’s Day get- together/ reception, after the 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 Masses this Sunday, in Kellaghan Hall. We look forward to getting to know you better, and your knowing one another and us. Snacks and beverages will be served. We are always proud of the accomplishments of our young people, especially the in the field of academia! Our 2nd Quarter Honor Students, who graduated from St. Vincent Ferrer Parish School, continue to shine in their studies at various regional Catholic Schools.

At Pope John Paul II H.S.: PRINCIPAL’S LIST (“A” in all subjects): Lindsay Brammer, Emily Sama, Sarah Transleau; FIRST HONORS: Lauren Browning, Clare Brinkman, Sarah Brinkman, Savannah Burbank, Nicholas Daryoush, Erin English, Marissa LaFontant, Julian Loreti, Timothy Marten, Nicholas McNamara, Carroll Meade; Abagail O’Malley, Michael Porter, Katherine Roussin, Stephanie Shappert, Alyssa Skehan, Gerald Williston, and Katherine Youngross. SECOND HONORS: Hayden Brockwell, Kaitlin Quinn.

At Cardinal Newman H.S.: FIRST HONORS: Erica Alaniz, Robert Beck, Rachel Rockwell, Arielle Routhier.At St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.: PRINCIPAL’S LIST: Jose Lacal.We look forward to the day when they will be able to lead us in faith, politics and life itself!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-01-21T15:46:21-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/512deeea34526e9399ef80b4d53726f7-99.html#unique-entry-id-99http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/512deeea34526e9399ef80b4d53726f7-99.html#unique-entry-id-99What a wonderful announcement last week that came from the Vatican: Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1st, Divine Mercy Sunday (which he instituted for the universal Church)! From then on, until his canonization, he will be known as Blessed Pope John Paul, and a special Mass for his feast day each year and additional Church prayers will be presented. Beatification is the next to the last step in having someone officially proclaimed a saint. Some of us have been already blessed to know him (I first met him in June of 1967, and then many times thereafter until some months before his death) and to come into contact with him on one or more occasions. We will continue the prayers we have been praying for his canonization, and may that grace which we ask through his intercession be given us, as well as the grace to see canonized!

Catholic Schools Week will be observed this year from Sunday, January 30th to February 5th. The theme for this year’s observance is: “Catholic Schools are A+ for America.” The opener on Sunday will begin with the Children’s Mass at 10 AM., followed by a Pancake Breakfast put on by our Knights of Columbus. Monday will feature Vocations and Clergy Appreciation; on Tuesday, there will be a Spelling Bee Contest (Grades 4-8), and the delivery of nonperishable food to our Haitian Mission Church (collected on the 100th day of the school year); Wednesday will be set aside for Coffee With the Principal, and an outdoor Field Day (K-8);Thursday will be “Teacher Appreciation Day (the “apples for the teachers” will be donated to Caring Kitchen) and School Spirit Day;” Friday will be “Grandparents Day” in the Gym, concluding with a Mass at 11 AM, and a Home & School Association sponsored lunch for the faculty and staff. The close of the week always features a fabulous Family Spaghetti Dinner in our gym, preceded by an “OPEN HOUSE.” Later, that night, we put on a rather delightful “Talent Show.” So, you can see that it will be a busy and fun week, showcasing our appreciation of what Catholic Schools have to proudly offer in the way of education and formation of our young people. I invite you to join in as many of these events as possible, and I know our children will always show their gratitude for all you do to support them by being the best they can be, and by praying for their supporters.

Thank you to all who made the Dead Sea Scrolls lecture a success, from beginning to end: our anonymous donor (who underwrote the costs); our maintenance crew under the direction of Jay Flood; John Krolikowski (our Parish Manager); Deacon Bruce and Karen Turnbull; John and Sharon Lynch; and the over 300 persons who came to enjoy the lecture. It would have been even more spectacular if Dr. Emilio Chavez could have had more time to further his interesting presentation, but he squeezed much into that time span for us to reflect upon for days to come.

No sooner will Catholic Schools Week close than we will open our annual Parish Mission. It is a very special spiritual opportunity to help us mark our 70th anniversary as a parish with pride, celebrating so many of the blessings lavished upon us by God. Led by Father Patrick Martin, a well-known leader of retreats throughout the country, it will take place from February 6th to the 9th. I’m asking that all men, women and youth of our parish, including our seasonal and regular members, to set aside time to participate in the services each evening (and the morning Masses, where possible). We all need a spiritual retreat to push aside those tensions and anxieties, and to give us an opportunity to re-connect with the spiritual side of our life.

Thank you to all those parishioners who attended the annual Pro-Life Rosary at the Court House in West Palm Beach on Friday with Bishop Barbarito. This 38th anniversary of the very infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which has left a dark mark upon the soul of this nation, was observed in many ways throughout the nation. Two large marches are taking place this weekend, one in California (for the West Coast supporters of life), and the larger one in our nation’s capital, this coming Monday, attesting to our ever-constant need and efforts to promote and defend human life from the womb to the tomb. May we live to see the day when this “One Nation Under God” really lives in a godly way and fully supports the unborn and their parents.

I invite the men of our parish for a special Catholic Men’s Rally at our diocesan Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, called “A Morning of Spiritual Growth for Men of All Ages.” This rally will take place this Saturday, January 29th. Bring a friend or your son. The main speaker, Matthew Kelly, gave a great presentation almost two years ago in our parish and at our local Pope John Paul II Catholic High School. You’ll enjoy the morning-long rally!

As a special service announcement to all Catholics in our area, we’ve been informed that a Rev. William Butler, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, currently living in our area, has been restricted from public ministry by Church officials in Boston, and therefore should not be functioning as a priest in our diocese, including being invited to celebrate Mass in homes. Any questions may be addressed to Rev. Thomas Foley in the Archdiocese of Boston (617) 746- 5834.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-01-17T13:07:33-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e6e93d2092ea5fa31b10267a6dc3bcaf-98.html#unique-entry-id-98http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e6e93d2092ea5fa31b10267a6dc3bcaf-98.html#unique-entry-id-98Dear Brothers and Sisters, we approach this weekend facing two very difficult anniversaries. The first one: the anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which claimed over 230,000 lives, and made more than a million survivors homeless.

It destroyed or made unusable 38 Catholic churches in the capital, Port-au-Prince, including its lovely centerpiece cathedral; and also claimed the lives of the Archbishop, his Vicar General and his Chancellor, as well as many priests, sisters and seminarians. Some encouraging news there is that Pope Benedict just named a new archbishop this week (a friend of our Fr. Danis Ridore). The continuing political turmoil and the machinations of evil entrepreneurs have slowed the process of rebuilding lives, and political and material structures. We need to continue to help and pray for Haiti!!!

The second anniversary: this coming Saturday will mark the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision. In a 7-2 vote, that court of very fallible individuals legalized the killing of unborn children in America, severely restricting the states’ rights to regulate it. Not only has that decision split people and political parties into 2 camps; worse, it has split Catholics into 2 groups: those who are faithful to the Church’s teaching on human life, and those who are not.

This picture is not unlike the ancient Christian community at Corinth being addressed by St. Paul in this week’s Mass. It, too, was a community that was torn apart: rich v. poor and slave v. free. And Paul’s message reminds us that with the death of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be HOLY; and we are called to be FAITHFUL!

Some shrill advocates of unlimited abortion have changed the original rhetoric from Pro-Life vs. Pro abortion, to pro- Choice vs. anti-Choice. What a turnaround! For the unborn child, there is NO CHOICE! They continue to be the victims of a play-on-words. Sadly, to be pro-abortion is to say that God is not the real author of life, and that the beginning of human life is really vague or unknowable.

For sure, judges, politicians and individuals may continue to argue about when life begins. But we know from listening to the Word of God, it is quite clear. No life comes to exist apart from the will of God. The prophet Isaiah, speaking to the Chosen People who were taken into Babylonian captivity as a punishment for turning from God, says: “Now the Lord has spoken, who formed me as His servant from the womb.”

Here, he is reflecting upon the earlier words of the prophet Jeremiah: “From my mother’s womb you pronounced my name.” For sure, we can recognize and empathize with a pregnant mother’s trauma, more especially if she’s unmarried, or a victim of violence; and we do owe her much moral, spiritual and financial support because of the difficult decision she must make to bear a child in a society that values convenience and pleasure over life itself.

In today’s Gospel, John readily recognized Jesus as the Messiah because of his faithfulness to all that God had revealed over the centuries. This faithfulness, in the midst of Israel’s infidelity, prepared him for the coming of the Messiah. We, too, can recognize Jesus in His teachings as we actively pursue His Word and help Him to transform our world and our lives. Our concern as followers of Jesus is to follow the Gospel. We may live in a world that prefers darkness -- a world filled with the stench that comes from a culture of death; but Christ has already come as a light to lead all those who wish to follow Him, and who are not afraid to witness to His teaching and to live the Gospel of life in faith.

Come this Friday, January 21st, and offer the annual Rosary with Bishop Barbarito outside and across the street from the main County Courthouse building in West Palm Beach at 11:00 A.M. for the unborn and their victim parents. Bring your children or friends to witness to the Gospel of Life vs. the Culture of Death that came about through the infamous Roe v Wade.

Let us also remember the victims of the shooting spree in Tucson this past week, and offer our prayers for the families who suffer from this tragedy, including the parents of the shooter, as they are also lamenting these losses, unable to comprehend why their son would do such an evil deed.

Don’t forget that this Wednesday evening at 7:00 P.M., we will have the special presentation of “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Fact or Fiction,” by Dr. Chavez, Scripture Scholar at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary. You will have a chance to meet with Dr. Chavez at the reception which follows. I promise you that you will have a delightful evening unraveling the mysteries with Dr. Chavez.

Men, there is a whole page in this bulletin dedicated to the upcoming annual Catholic Men’s Rally, called “A Morning of Spiritual Growth For Men Of All Ages.” This rally will take place on Saturday, January 29th at our diocesan cathedral.

When you come, please bring a friend or your teenage son. The main speaker, Matthew Kelly is a ‘dynamo,’ – it may be just what you need!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2011-01-09T17:36:18-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a7edf046da3a610f297a1628276c1ea5-97.html#unique-entry-id-97http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a7edf046da3a610f297a1628276c1ea5-97.html#unique-entry-id-97It’s almost sad to have to draw the Christmas season to a close this weekend with the celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. We return to the Ordinary Time of the Year, for several weeks until March, when we open the Lenten season, but it is hardly an ordinary year, since we are celebrating our 70th anniversary as a parish! On Monday, we’ll take down the decorations that so enhanced our church these past several weeks, so we’re looking for volunteers again to dismantle the trees and wreaths. We’ll start immediately after the 8:30 am Morning Mass, and offer lunch to all those who wish to help us in this project.

Thanks to the generosity of our “First Responders” to the Annual Ferrer Fund appeal, we have received several wonderful donations from our parishioners (both full-time and part-time). These will begin to make a difference in covering any deficits incurred in operating our parish school and church. To date, we have received 48 AFF gifts, totaling over $32,000, towards this year’s goal of $650,000!

Our children are depending upon us for the improvements to our school and the upgrades needed to keep our school the wonderful institution it has become, especially with the advances we have made these past few years.***
***By the way, in your gift-giving, did you know that the President recently signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Realization and Job Creation Act of 2010? This law restores the popular IRA Charitable Rollover, retroactively for 2010, and will keep it in place for 2011. Those who have not yet taken their 2010 mandatory distribution, now have until the end of January to make tax-free, roll-over contribution to a qualified charity [such as the Annual Ferrer Fund], and have it “count” toward their 2010 taxes.

The same conditions apply as in years past (donor must be age 70 1/2 or older, limit of $100,000 per individual). If you have not yet taken your mandatory distribution, please consider taking advantage of this giving opportunity. It will be a wonderful help for meeting our needs. May God bless those who selflessly give from their blessings, so that we can continue to develop our parish resources, and to promote our future growth. For more details, consult your tax advisor.

The fascinating “Fact or Fiction: The Dead Sea Scrolls” presentation by Scripture Scholar, Dr. Emilio G.
Chavez, biblical professor at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, will be Wednesday, January19th, in our Kellaghan Hall, followed by a chance to meet him at a reception to follow the session. Though there’s no charge for attendance, please call 276-6892 to reserve a seat.

During the next few weeks, there will be a plethora of spiritual opportunities planned to help us mark our
70th anniversary with pride, celebrating so many of the blessings lavished upon us by God. Our annual Parish Mission, led by Father Patrick Martin, a well-known leader of retreats throughout the country, will take place from February 6th to the 9th. I’m asking the all men, women and youth of our parish, including our seasonal and regular members, to set aside time to participate in the services each evening (and the morning Masses, where possible).

The Diocese of Palm Beach will present its annual Catholic Men for Jesus Rally on Saturday, January 29th. In addition to Bishop Barbarito, our featured guests will include noted Catholic author and dynamic
speaker, Matthew Kelly (who really lit up the crowds when he spoke in our parish and at Pope John Paul II High School last year). This is an opportunity for fathers and sons (12 years old and up) and other men to bond in the presence of Jesus, go to Confession, pray the Rosary, and to participate in Bishop Barbarito’s uplifting closing Mass at the Cathedral.

Our parish Coordinator is Jamie Lesane at 376-4278 or jlesane@me.com. Our annual Men’s retreat at Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center will be from Feb. 4th to 6th, and the Women’s Retreat will be from March 11th to 13th. The theme is: “Love Casts Out Fear.” For more information, call Dave Heninger (278-9069) or David Schmidt (665-1107) for the Men’s retreat, and Deborah Dowd (276-3991) for the Women’s retreats.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-12-26T09:47:33-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d7ee43ff08812a5656101aa4ee595783-96.html#unique-entry-id-96http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d7ee43ff08812a5656101aa4ee595783-96.html#unique-entry-id-96On this Feast of the Holy Family, which follows closely the celebration of Christmas Day, our focus is on the family. Its importance cannot be overstated or overemphasized. The family is the first school of learning where we discover what it means to be human, what are our strengths and weaknesses, where we experience love and forgiveness, where we learn about relationships, unity, sacrifice, loving others, accepting weaknesses, and learn about values and trust, how to handle stress, and how to be responsible.

This is the unit where we learn to get along with one another (if we pursue it carefully), most especially if it’s a family that is relatively healthy (because no family, save the Holy Family, is really perfect). I remember once being told by a cynical Catholic that the idea of imitating Jesus is absurd and beyond our human capabilities. I don’t agree. To imitate in the sense of “being equal to,” is clearly impossible for us. But to imitate in the sense of making a sincere effort to model our conduct upon that of Jesus is not impossible; indeed, it’s something that we should always try to do. We get our encouragement to do so from the readings of today’s Mass.

Maybe you think this is boring to speak or write about something so seemingly abstract as virtues. Maybe you’re thinking, “Father, tell us something more practical about what they did.” Fine; but what they did was LIVE these virtues, teaching one another with compassion and kindness and love. So for this reason, the Church offers them as models for us as someone to imitate. Their efforts are important to us in an age where there is so much dysfunctionalism in family life.

So, why are families “dysfunctional?”

I believe there are several reasons, but primarily because they don’t love one another as they should. They seek their own interests; they’re always trying to please themselves. Instead of looking out for the welfare and happiness of other members of the family, they look to their own interests. A family that is seriously dysfunctional teaches a lot of other things that end up not being very helpful. But the Holy Family is a contradiction to this form of family, because it seeks to work for the welfare of the “other.”
More importantly, Jesus, Mary and Joseph each sought to do the will of God the Father, rather than have Him serve their will and whims. There is no doubt that these qualities were evident in the lives of the Holy Family. And it was love that made all these possible, for it united all the other virtues and made them greater and enriched them.

The success of society depends upon the health of the family. That creates a big burden on society to care about each of its members in order to foster healthy families. I have seen too many people, once they get away from going to Mass every week, slowly drift away from their faith. That’s sad, because families that want to stay together need to pray and work together. In the 2nd reading, we hear the words, “Above all these, put on love.” That was the Holy Family’s manner of living: as individuals, they loved one another with a love that was strong and very generous, not seeking anything for themselves.

St. Paul gives us a wonderful list of virtues that would enhance and enrich any of our relationships within our families, such as compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, forgiveness, etc. He even tells us twice in the short passage of his letter today to be grateful.

The Greek word for “thanksgiving” is “Eucharisteo.” Sound familiar? Each time we receive the Eucharist worthily, we’re giving thanks as a family for all the blessings God has bestowed on us. Another problem occurs in this age when we see parents who NEVER correct their children (i.e., correcting with love).
They feel they don’t want to “offend” them; they always want to “be nice.” But in the final analysis, never correcting means not loving!

It’s depriving children of the formation and instruction that they need – that which will form them into good, mature adults and respectable members of the human family. If parents correct with love, with a desire of forming their children into good citizens, the children will realize that their parents really loved them and acted as responsible parents. Maybe the Child Jesus didn’t need correction, but certainly He needed instruction and formation. Without doubt, Mary and Joseph provided them.

Today’s Gospel shows us that the Holy Family also experienced great difficulties. They even had to abandon their own country in order to preserve their lives. When informed of the impending dangers, how did St. Joseph respond? He simply always did what God, through the angel, ordered. This was his manner of acting in all circumstances, and he did it without protest or complaint. Jesus, too, even though He was the Son of God, became the submissive child of rather ordinary parents.

That’s why each member of this Holy Family serves as a model of humility, cooperation, obedience and love. It is for this reason that we celebrate their lives as one family, as proof that God loves us and provides for us, which we’ll come to realize when we maintain and return His love.

Today, we also celebrate the importance of another family – our parish family. Here, too, we discover who we are as God’s children, how to trust God, and to love Him and one another. We learn values here, too - values that are intended to lead us into eternal life. Hopefully, we learn how to forgive as well as to be forgiven. Here, we gather around the table of the sanctuary to be fed, not with perishable food, but with food that will nourish us eternally. Our faith family is just as important in its own way as our family of origin. And the Lord’s Supper that we share is just as important to our spiritual well-being as our eating together as a human family is to our emotional well-being.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-12-20T10:41:52-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/3bc32d9db616e0219a63ccf289868e27-95.html#unique-entry-id-95http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/3bc32d9db616e0219a63ccf289868e27-95.html#unique-entry-id-95As we conclude our observance of the holy season of Advent, this Fourth Sunday before Christmas opens us up to one more week of our final preparations and our reflections on the coming of Jesus. For those who want to meditate more on this preparation, there are some quotes from Bishop Barbarito’s two recent Advent Letters. For those who want to forego the sensibilities of the season of Advent and follow the secular version of Christmas, may I suggest such music from your local radio stations that have been playing loads of secular and other Christmas songs.

Fortunately, the Church, in its 2,000 year old wisdom, has answered these enticements of the counter culture of this world. In its ageless wisdom, it rouses us to be ready by hymns of anticipation and preparation. It echoes the Lord’s servant, Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Josh. 24:15
“Advent is a season that reminds us of our continued anticipation during life. It is filled with expectation as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas.” (Bishop Barbarito in 2009) “As we begin Advent, let us be more attentive to the restlessness of our hearts and their seeking for something more. However, let us realize our seeking can be fooled into thinking something less than God can satisfy our yearning. Even all the joys of a wonderful celebration of Christmas will not satisfy the deepest yearnings of our heart for God. Our yearning in this life makes the present time worthwhile only when we realize that yearning is for God.” “The season of Advent is one that gives us an opportunity to appreciate more fully the word of God in our lives. It is a time to listen to that word more carefully and to apply it to our daily experiences. During the season, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, who is the Word made flesh.” (2010)

Our annual Advent Penance Service will take place this Tuesday evening, December 21st, at 7:00 P.M. in our church. Several (10+) priests will be on hand to hear pre‐Christmas confessions of our people. There will also be one more opportunity to go to Confession after the 7:00 and 8:30 AM Masses on Thursday morning (though these last‐minute lines tend to get long). THERE WILL BE NO CONFESSIONS HELD ON CHRISTMAS DAY (even though it is Saturday, because it is Christmas! On the evening Masses that day (4 and 5:30 P.M.), we are not celebrating
Christmas Day Mass (Sorry, no “2 for 1” Masses to cover both feasts), but, the Mass for Sunday (Feast of the Holy Family).

I extend a special “Thank You” to our volunteers who helped with the recent mailings of our Church Christmas Cards, and the Annual Ferrer Fund Campaign. God bless them all: Mimi Meister, Michele Harrington, Nancy Porter, Donna Rizzo, Kristin Gonzalez, Kim Weber, Curt and Luz Mackiewicz, Amy Vilcnik, Tricia Wohlfarth, Flor Heaney, Jenny Robbins, Mary Jane Pabisz, Beth Burnet, Colleen Schuhmann, Pam Foley, Micki Salvato, Beth Bernet, Gabi Kaman, Sue Perez, Amy Fairchild, Chrissy Hubiak, Carla Zorovich, Donna Rizzo, Ann Rodriguez, Michelle Gemma, Linda Flood and Mrs. Vikki Delgado.

Thank you to John Glover and Bill Gillis for their presentations to launch the ANNUAL FERRER FUND. You already should have gotten the letters explaining the program and our hope to build up the necessary funds to build up and sustain our school and church. If not, more are available in the parish office. It is important that we work as a team to continue to build up Christ’s Body in our midst.

Thank you to Jay Flood and his team of hard working men who built the parish float for the annual Delray Christmas Parade. It was a wonderful effort to present the name and face of St. Vincent’s Parish to the community. They also help prepare all our facilities for the various events surrounding the Christmas festivities. Let’s express our gratitude to them!

We welcome the many visitors who will be attending our parish church these next few days to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas beginning on Christmas. We invite you to join our parishioners in celebrating the festival of the Prince of Peace that surrounds us during this time. We expect that the George Bush Blvd. Bridge will be opened for your convenience after a half‐year of repair work. What a Christmas present for us! Please consult the parish bulletins for the schedule of Masses and Services to be held in our church over the next two weekends; this should help you to discern the times and occasions you plan to attend Mass with the overlapping celebrations.

You are invited to join us this coming TUESDAY morning after the 8:30 A.M. Mass to help decorate the church for Christmas. A light lunch will follow for all the volunteers. Congratulations to the Boys’ Soccer Team of our parish school who won the annual Championship for this year! It was a much‐celebrated and awaited victory. Our Girls’ Basketball Team went all the way to the championships, too. Alas, victory was snatched from their grasp after a hard‐fought game. We are proud of both of these teams and their coaches, and thank their parents and all their supporters.

Now let us prepare to enter upon the celebration of the many Feasts of Christmas! May your family enjoy this time of year in a deep, spiritual way, securing the blessings of the Divine Child and Mary, His Mother. May God’s grace be with you now and throughout the coming year!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-12-14T21:42:00-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/525dd63830d381ab215710e54d7479ce-94.html#unique-entry-id-94http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/525dd63830d381ab215710e54d7479ce-94.html#unique-entry-id-94This weekend, we are featuring members of our new Parish Development Board to speak to us about a new and exciting plan for sustaining our school, religious education, youth, outreach and church ministries programs. They have been hard at work to bring about a successful plan of action so that we can not only continue doing our good work, but develop our future goals. They will make their important presentation so that we can be informed not only of the ways in which we can sustain our church and school, but spell out a plan to take our church and school into the next phase of our mission, expressed in the statement featured in our weekly parish bulletin.

During this season of Advent, as we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives, we can prepare our hearts as a suitable place for Him to dwell. A primary way is through a thorough cleansing in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Our annual Advent Penance Service (with Confession opportunities for all) will be celebrated in our church on Tuesday evening, December 21st at 7:00 P.M. Several priest of the area will join our parish priests to be available to hear Confessions and to help make you feel more worthy to receive the Christ Child in Holy Communion. If you have not been going to Mass through your own fault, or if you have in some way seriously offended God directly or through His people, then this can be an excellent opportunity to be reconciled with the Lord and to receive the Eucharist worthily.

Every Advent and Lent, when we are preparing to have our seasonal Penance Service and listen to the confessions of numerous people, certain questions always come up about different sins and the seriousness of some of the sins that are mentioned to the priest. Among them are the questions that surround our observance of the laws regarding Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation, such as, “Father, I haven’t attended Mass for several Sundays, and I want to know if I committed serious sin that should keep me from receiving Holy Communion until I confess it.” Also, “Father, is it a serious sin
to do work on Sundays that can be done on other days?”

My response is often based on finding out the reasons for not attending Mass. This determines whether it was a serious sin or even a sin at all. On these issues, let’s look at the teaching of the Catholic Church as found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here are some specific teachings of the Church in those areas quoted from that source: “The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public and regular worship ‘as a sign of His universal beneficence to all’.”#2176 “The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and His Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. Sunday is the day on which the Paschal Mystery is celebrated…. and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.” #2177 “Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and being faithful
to Christ and to His Church…. #2182 “The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord very precisely: On Sundays and other holy days of obligation
the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.” #2180 “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, emergencies) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.” #2181 “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of the works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family
life and health.” #2185

Then, there is this whole question of serious sin. “Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us –charity, necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart, which is normally accomplished within the setting of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.” #1856 “Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.” #1859 “Mortal sin…. results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying
grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death …. for our freedom has the power to make choices forever, with no turning back.” #1861

Though I know good people everywhere are trying to prepare for Christmas in a most sincere way through the reception of the Sacrament of Penance in order to receive Holy Communion worthily, there are others who are not yet “focused” on their faith and the serious moral questions of their life. Maybe this article will be helpful to them. Perhaps you can share it with others and do your part in promoting a spiritual work of mercy and help instruct and even help save a few souls for Christ.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-11-28T20:19:34-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a08e4422b8bd3c9828b78ea3b39e8bef-93.html#unique-entry-id-93http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a08e4422b8bd3c9828b78ea3b39e8bef-93.html#unique-entry-id-93Did you enjoy a great Thanksgiving Day? We did, too, with a number of people who came to church to give thanks to God in a special way at one of our four Thanksgiving services, including our interfaith one. Thanksgiving is the one celebration of the year when, despite differences in religion, we can all turn to our Creator and thank Him for the bounteous gifts He has bestowed upon us.

This First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new Church liturgical year. It comes, very appropriately, a few weeks before the birth of Christ, giving us a little time to pause and reflect on the great gift God has presented His people – His own Son for the sake of their salvation! It is not really a time for Christmas parties – properly speaking, they should start on Christmas day and follow for the weeks to come. When we come to Christmas Eve itself, we can begin our real celebration of the birthday of the Savior, relishing it for the next few weeks, not tossing out our Christmas trees on the 26th because we started too early, and not dismantling the season until it really comes to an end on January 9th.

Perhaps we can take the next few weeks to prepare ourselves for the great feast of light, thereby being able to see past the crass commercialism that the merchants of the market place have made of this birthday of the light of our life. Take time to pray the prayers set aside for this season, perhaps even having your own family Advent wreath that can be lit each night at dinner or some other convenient time. There will also be opportunities for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, especially as we take time to come to the Advent Penance Service on December 21st at 7:00 P.M.

Two media sensation stories, one of the past week, and one over the course of several months, have played out quite dramatically in the Catholic world, especially here in the USA. The first is the misunderstanding about Pope Benedict XVI’s comments made in a book, “The Light of the World.” This book, most recently published and based on a dialogue with a German author and friend, was leaked, in part, by sources that should have been a bit more friendly toward the pope, and is causing something of a sensation. It concerns the pope’s remarks on condom usage and the translation of pertinent passages.

Ironically, the message of this good and brilliant Pope has been hobbled nearly as much by the baffling failures of some of his own aides as by unfriendly coverage from the world's media. One of the sensitive issues that Benedict treats in this book is the question of AIDS in Africa and the use of condoms to prevent the spread of infection. No institution in Africa has done more to combat AIDS and support its victims than the Catholic Church.

But intense controversy, at least in Europe and the U. S., has always surrounded the Catholic rejection of condom use in AIDS prevention. The Church holds that condom use is morally flawed by its nature, and that, equally important, condom use does not prevent AIDS and can actually enable its spread by creating a false sense of security.

In the context of the book's later discussion of contraception and Catholic teaching on sexuality, the Pope's comments are morally insightful. But taken out of context, they can easily be inferred as approving condoms under certain circumstances. One might reasonably expect the Holy Father's assistants to have an advance communications plan in place, and to involve bishops and Catholic media in a timely way to explain and defend the Holy Father's remarks. Somehow, that’s not always the case.

The second concerns the ongoing struggle about the annual collection and distribution of funds through the American Bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Although I have been skeptical in the past because of the earmarking of funds that have been parlayed (or should I say waylaid) to organizations whose focuses have been found to be in direct contradiction to the moral and ethical teachings of the Catholic Church, recent assurances from the Bishops of the United Sates, in their recent November conference meeting, that the irregularities of the past have been cleaned up, have been passed on to our dioceses in Florida and throughout the nation.

I trust our bishop in his recent statement made at the Diocesan Presbyteral Council Meeting, that the mismanagement of these funds in the past has been thoroughly rectified and will be carefully monitored in the future, and that the new commitment to monitoring these funds for use in organizations that are in sync with the Catholic Church will be thorough and complete.

Another assurance comes from a bishop-friend of mine who withheld last year’s funds in his diocese from the national campaign and put them into an escrow account until this year’s campaign directors assured him and several other bishops doing the same, that the previous structure has been thoroughly overhauled and a new arrangement, one with greater transparency and accountability, has been made. Because of the great number of requests being made to “do good works” for the poor in our community and elsewhere during this time of year, we have to maintain a “clearing house” for such requests through our parish office. If you have questions about any such requests, please make sure that you contact our parish office to resolve any issues, or to seek permission to solicit on behalf of any organization that has not already been approved.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-11-22T13:40:37-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b85125262499080e5d3a831226f36646-92.html#unique-entry-id-92http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b85125262499080e5d3a831226f36646-92.html#unique-entry-id-92In this week’s bulletin, I am happy to continue my tradition of presenting you with our annual financial statement for the past year and budget for the coming year. It has been reviewed many times before it was set into print. I thank the members of our Parish Finance Council, under the leadership of Christopher Grant, and the preparatory work of Chris Currie, who meticulously keeps our parish finances in order for scrutiny. Please take home the bulletin to study the report.

During this season of remembering and giving, I want to make one more appeal to both our year-round and seasonal parishioners to contribute to the 2010 Diocesan Services Appeal. Your gift actually comes back in part to our parish in aid to our school. As you can see from the thermometer on another page of this bulletin, we are getting closer to our goal, but are still short by several thousand dollars. Since we are among those who benefit from this collection, would you please consider a pledge or even a one-time gift to assist us in educating our students, future priests, and children from poor areas who have no other way of receiving a Catholic education. DSA envelopes are available in the pews and at the entrances of our church. Please pick one up today, fill it out, mail in as generous a contribution that you can give so that we can make our goal and not have to draw from our weekly income. Your gift goes a long way in helping to fund so many of the ministries of the Catholic Church throughout our five-county area. Even if you don’t live here much of the year, you still benefit from the services that the Catholic Church has to offer you in your needs.

This week in one in which one day is set aside by our government for giving thanks to God for the bounteous gifts bestowed upon us and our country. It took a presidential decree from a very spiritual leader of our country to cause us to pause and reflect upon the abundant blessings given to all of us and to our ancestors who came to these shores. The fourth Thursday in November has been set aside for us as a country to express our gratitude to the creator of life. We have every day to give thanks to God for His blessings, especially each Sunday, the LORD’s Day. I wonder how many will come to church this Tuesday evening or Thursday morning to express their gratitude to the Lord in our special Thanksgiving observances. Will the scenario be any different than the Gospel story of the one leper who came to give thanks for his cure and the nine who did not?

Our annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical Prayer Service will take place in our church this Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. If you are so inclined, since there will be a collection of canned goods and non-perishable items taken up during this service, you can bring in ONE food item for the collection of foods that will be given to poor at that time.

On Thanksgiving Day, there will be NO 5 P.M. Mass. Instead, we will have a 10 A.M. Mass to celebrate as a family our thanks to God for all His wonderful gifts to us. The two regular early Masses will be celebrated that day, too. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His great love is without end.” HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Most of us had the chance last weekend to listen to Danielle and Morgan Mannweiler present the story of their “Wishes Come True” program. Its goal is to match families who would like to help needy children at Christmas with the names of organizations that service these needy children throughout the year. You can join in this most worthwhile project by asking your family members (including extended family) if they would be willing to forfeit a traditional gift exchange and then pool together the money saved to buy gifts for the most needy in our own community. Then, e-mail Wishes Come True at wishescometrue25@aol.com and request a list of the charitable organizations in our area. Call the contact person from whichever organization you choose, and get the names, ages, sizes and wish lists for the children you will help. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate this holiday season of giving. We can all work together to make Wishes Come True this Christmas!

It’s hard to believe, but last Thursday marked five years since I took possession of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish. I thank God and pray for all the good and cooperative people who have helped us in moving forward despite obstacles; and I pray even harder for those who did/do not cooperate. May they receive the grace of Jesus’ prayer for unity and the blessings of inner peace.

In our stewardship of time, talents and treasure, we thank Ana Kenefick, Beth Heide and Wanda Skinner, who make sure that we have beautiful flowers to adorn our altar and sanctuary throughout the year. Their love of the Lord is evident in their labor of love.

Congratulations to our parishioners who are the honor students for the 1st Quarter at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton: (Principal’s List) Lauren Browning and Hayley Williston; (1st Honors) Meredith Black, Clare Brinkman, Sarah Brinkman, Brian Burkard, Alec Costanian, Julian Loreti, Timothy Marten, Nicholas McNamara, Emily Sama, Stephanie Schappert, Alyssa Skehan, Colin Transleau, Gerald Williston and Katherine Youngross; and (2nd Honors) Mary Brinkman. Congratulations to our parishioners who are honor students for the 1st Quarter at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach: (1st Honors) Erica Alaniz and Rachel Rockwell.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-11-14T20:17:58-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/9356686f13c84eda289154840d404d75-91.html#unique-entry-id-91http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/9356686f13c84eda289154840d404d75-91.html#unique-entry-id-91Is it possible that Christmas is only a little more than a month away? Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and the holiday crush is near. Thank God for the season of Advent which begins in two weeks, and enables us to pause for a moment in true preparation for the coming of the Christmas season and the real meaning behind Christmas (despite what Madison Avenue is pushing!).

In last week’s musical concert in the gym of our parish family life center, we saw a wonderful turnout for a very unique presentation that honored our veterans. I especially thank our vocalists Bill Stafford and Alicia Branch, drummer, Pablo Falcon, and last-year SVF School graduate, Carly Parsons, for their part in putting together a tribute called the “The America I Love.” It was a nice presentation of American musical tunes and patriotic numbers that brought the audience to its feet in tribute to the men and women who have served in our armed forces. Many veterans were present, and they thoroughly enjoyed the program. Thank you to the men and women who worked behind the scenes to make this program the success it was, and served a delicious meal as part of the venue. To all who came and helped support our St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in nearby Boynton Beach, I say many, many thanks!

This Sunday at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, members of our RCIA, most of who are preparing to be fully received into the Catholic faith next Easter, will participate in the Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming. I congratulate them and their sponsors, and pray that they will grow in their knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Faith and its traditions.

Next Saturday, all Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and those who are planning to become one in our parish are reminded of the special Day of Reflection and instructions that will take place beginning at 11:00 a.m. The duration will be short, but the meeting is most important for all those who will be installed or reinstalled as EMHC’s.

On Tuesday, November 23rd, we will hold our 4th annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service for various congregations in the Delray Beach community, starting at 7:00 p.m. in our church. I want to invite you and your family to take part in this ecumenical community observance, in which we come together as one family, despite our religious disparities, to give thanks to the Lord for all that He has bestowed upon us. This was the original intent of the Thanksgiving holiday before it got turned on its head with parades, football games and turkey with
the trimmings. Maybe it’s a sign of age, or maybe it’s the growing awareness of the attitude that often creeps into our lives and needs to be examined and addressed, but I’ve noticed a rather casual and even careless approach toward the Holy Eucharist by some participants at our daily and weekly Masses.

It’s not just the shameless habit of leaving of Mass early - immediately after receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus (if even receiving Holy Communion), or well before the final blessing of Mass (shades of the first man who walked out on the Lord at the First Mass), but even trying to receive the Holy Eucharist while chewing gum; and the failure to turn off cell phones in church after the reminders are given (and actually talking on them in God’s House during Mass); and the indiscreet drinking of bottled water (not the baby-bottle kind, either) during the most solemn liturgy. There is also the manner of our dressing immodestly or improperly (read: “without a sense of proper decorum”) for coming to the House of the Lord. Though, admittedly, this is done by a minority of the people, it certainly sets a bad example for our younger people, who look up to adults as role models, and sends a bad message to our guests that St. Vincent’s Parish doesn’t care about who we are or how we act in the presence of God. Yes, it’s sad to have to be reminded of what lack of respect we show Our Lord in the Eucharist. May we take time to see whether we are guilty of violating the sacredness of the church as the temple of God in our midst. May we not ever come to church with an attitude that borders on the careless or the indifferent.

The children from our parish school have been invited in early December to come to the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Palm Beach Gardens to help our Bishop Barbarito in decorating the Christmas tree (not the holiday tree) in the lobby of the center. We’ve had that privilege in the past, but it’s always nice to know that we are invited again and again. We take pride in this and delight in the fact that we are one of the best Catholic schools in the diocese! I thank all of those who support our school and its programs, financially and through volunteer services, including our parents, Home and School Association, School Advisory Board, faculty, staff, and above all, the leadership we have in the very capable hands of our Principal, Mrs. M. Vikki Delgado. God bless you all!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-11-09T17:14:17-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b72ef387311221ee50d9bd06b2b3afcd-90.html#unique-entry-id-90http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b72ef387311221ee50d9bd06b2b3afcd-90.html#unique-entry-id-90I hope you remembered to turn your clock back an hour this weekend! If not, you’ll have an extra hour to pray (or play or spend in some other useful manner) on the Lord’s Day. Next Sunday, the Catholic Church in America will observe Stewardship Sunday. Today you can read in this column about some of the fine stewardship that is taking place in our parish community.

Thank you for the Mass cards, prayers, gifts and best wishes you gave Monsignor Bosso, Fathers Danis, Father Michael and myself in observance of Priesthood Sunday last week. We really do appreciate your kind expressions on this occasion and many others throughout the year. I am blessed to have such zealous priests to assist me in the workload here. Father Michael is improving more each day in his recovery from knee surgery.

You may forward cards to him via the parish rectory office. Though, like anyone else, we priests have both good and bad days, your gracious support of us gives us that extra incentive to meet our various priestly obligations. I ask you to please remember to pray constantly for us, and for the Lord to send more priests into His harvest. There is so much work to do, but it seems there are so few who answer the call to do it.

As we draw nearer to our annual national Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving, I want to express our very special thanks to Joe Hughes of our parish who refurbished the Men’s and Women’s lavatories of our church as his gift of gratitude for God’s blessings upon him and his family. He was ably assisted in his work by the capable men of our parish maintenance staff: Jay Flood, Joe Zupo, and Rick Marino. Joe is now undertaking another special project to beautify God’s house and to continue his stewardship of time, talent and treasure.

Next Sunday morning, at the 8:30 Mass, we will hold the Rite of Acceptance and Welcoming for those who are preparing to be received into the Catholic Faith. Here’s a splendid opportunity for us to witness their first efforts and to pray for this little community of family and friends who are in the process of learning more about our Catholic Faith. God willing, they will all join us next Easter as part of the St. Vincent Ferrer family of believers.

I thank Deacon Lee Levenson, his wife, Alice, Father Danis Ridore, and the whole RCIA team for their stewardship of time and talent, as they prepare our newest class of catechumens on their faith journey. Welcome back to our many “snowbirds!” We’ve missed you, and hope that your seasonal stay will be a very pleasant one. Some of you have been keeping up with our parish via the internet and our website; others were surprised to see that the George Bush Boulevard bridge has been closed for some months for serious updating and maintenance. We’re glad to have you back. Thank you to the officers and members of our Home and School Association who helped set up this year’s successful venture of “Trunk and Treat.” It was a safe and wonderful occasion for our children to do their ‘trick or treat’ routine, while their families gathered for an evening of exchanging pleasantries, all done while raising funds for the association.

Please remember in your prayers the soul of Margaret Henry, mother of the late Father John Sutton of this diocese. Mrs. Henry, a good friend that I’ve known for the past 45 years, died on All Saints’ Day. She was a former member of this parish before moving to the northern end of our county. The gift of her only son to the priesthood surely was pleasing to the Lord. May she enjoy the reward of now being with the Lord and her son and her husband.

Next Saturday, November 13th, we will observe our annual Mass of Remembrance for all of us who have lost a loved one this past year. It will be offered at 10:30 a.m. There is information in another part of this bulletin about the celebration and the pictures we need for the collage. This Sunday afternoon at 3 PM, our parish will host our Director of Liturgical Music, baritone, Bill Stafford, and several of his wonderfully musically talented friends, in the concert event of the year titled, “The America I Love.” Proceeds of this event will benefit our St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.

As a reminder, this Thursday, Dr. Emilio Chavez will make his presentation on the Dead Sea Scrolls at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary at 7:15 p.m. To see if seating is available and to reserve a place, please call 732-4424. If you cannot attend, or wish to attend again, we will sponsor and feature the same presentation in our parish January 19th in our parish.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-11-02T21:15:48-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/794b41d2ae8d953e6a14951767d04da2-89.html#unique-entry-id-89http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/794b41d2ae8d953e6a14951767d04da2-89.html#unique-entry-id-89This Sunday, October 31st, marks a special day of recognition for priests, the annual World Day for Priests (sponsored by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter) as well as Priesthood Sunday (sponsored by the USA Council of Serra International). Pope Benedict XVI recently shared a personal experience of his own vocation in a letter to seminarians.

He recalls that when he was drafted for service in the military, he was asked what he planned to do with his life in the future. When he responded that he wanted to be a Catholic priest, the interviewing lieutenant replied, “Then you want to look for something else. In the new Germany, priests are no longer needed.” The Pope reflects upon the fact that many in our society today also hold a similar sentiment to the lieutenant and feel that priesthood belongs to the past. That may be due to any number of factors, including reaction to the financial and sexual scandals featured in the media, a poor grasp of Church History and role of priestly celibacy in the West, a misunderstanding of the role of the priest in today’s society, and even a general malaise regarding organized religion.

But Pope Benedict’s reassuring words to the seminarians, despite the prevailing negative attitude today, encourages both today’s and tomorrow’s priests: “You have done a good thing. Because people will always have need of God, even in an age marked by technical mastery and globalization: they will always need the God who has revealed Himself in Jesus, the God who gathers us together in the universal Church in order to learn with Him and through Him life’s true meaning, and in order to uphold and apply the standards of true humanity…. The world needs priests, pastors – today, tomorrow and always, until the end of time.”

The month of November offers us special occasions to celebrate life, death and life after death. This Monday’s solemn Feast of All Saints is not an obligatory Mass day in the United States this year, for it falls on the day after (obligatory) Sunday. However, we welcome you to honor your own patron saint(s) by celebrating Mass with us at the appointed times. Children from some of our grades marked the occasion with a “procession of the saints” this past Friday in our parish school. How delightful it was to see the original Christian intent of the feast being observed in this way, rather than a commercialized version. The original intent of All Hallows’ Eve (a.k.a. Halloween) is an ancient Christian tradition that honors that part of the Communion of Saints we know as the “Church Triumphant” (those in heaven). It’s an opportunity, too, to pray for the souls of the faithful departed, that they may soon be joined with those in heaven.

Tuesday is All Souls’ Day, a time for commemorating that part of the Communion of Saints we know as the Faithful Departed (traditionally called “The Church Suffering”). A Novena of Masses being celebrated for them as part of the Scriptural understanding that “it is a holy and just [cause] to pray for the dead” (2 Macc. 12:45), and “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ….let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them” (Rev. 14:13), and “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His holy ones.” (Ps. 115) Tuesday is also Election Day. It is a privilege and a duty as citizens to elect the very best representatives that we can to govern our city, state and country. Please don’t forget to VOTE!

This coming Friday night is the first Friday of the month. That means it’s FISH FRY time! Enjoy a great (and inexpensive) meal in our Kellaghan Hall, put together by our expert chefs from the Knights of Columbus, the culinary team that serves up the monthly pancake breakfast! Dinner is served from 5:00 until 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 6th, the annual “40 Days For Life” observance will close with a Rosary and an invocation against the power of Satan (similar to an exorcism). It will take place at 9:00 a.m. at the abortion center in West Palm Beach, by the corner of Village Blvd. and 45th St. I invite you to pray for the victims of abortion, including the children and their parents, as well as for the conversion of hearts of those who promote and commit that act. Too many good people have suffered spiritually, physically and mentally, and our continued prayers are needed.

A special presentation on “The Dead Sea Scrolls: Fact vs. Fiction,” by Scripture professor, Dr. Emilio G. Chavez, will be given at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, on Thursday, Nov. 11th, at 7:15 p.m. Since the seating is limited, you’ll need to call the seminary to attend (732-4424). But, not to worry!

Dr. Chavez will repeat his presentation at our parish on January 19th (and seating will not be limited!). Both presentations are sponsored by our parish, and are made possible through the selfless generosity of an anonymous parishioner. God bless him!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-10-25T16:59:18-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/536b4bacc26b2923a41f9a4baaee5e25-88.html#unique-entry-id-88http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/536b4bacc26b2923a41f9a4baaee5e25-88.html#unique-entry-id-88November 2nd marks All Souls’ Day, whereby we can remember loved ones through Masses offered throughout the day for their intention. Our bishop will offer a Mass for all deceased at 10:00 a.m. at Queen of Peace Cemetery in Royal Palm Beach, to which you are invited. November 2nd is also Election Day, and I want to encourage you as good citizens to take the time to exercise your privilege and duty to vote. Ever conscious of our responsibility as good Catholics to see that our elected representatives exercise sound judgment on issues that affect the lives of all people, and in which we, as Catholics have a particular interest, we need to study carefully the issues that affect not only our lives, but those of our brothers and sisters. Paramount is the defense of human life in all its stages, and the refraining for experimenting on human life (as Nazi eugenics once did). Life is a gift from God, entrusted to us as His stewards, and is not to be arbitrarily tampered with or manipulated to suit the whims or fancies of the human ego.

In a recent Gospel of Life Prayer Breakfast in St. Louis, Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo (Fr. Michael’s diocese) said that “Catholics in the political arena today are too often more faithful to party platforms and partisanship than to their faith in Jesus, His Church and the promotion of a ‘culture of life’.” He said that there is a false separation between one’s private life and faith, and one’s public life and faith. “Catholics in the political arena must recognize that opposition to intrinsic evils, such as abortion, euthanasia, genocide, embryonic stem-cell research and same-sex unions is always required by the faithful Catholic. Because these intrinsic evils are direct attacks on human life and marital dignity, they are non-negotiable for every Catholic. One has only to read the 23rd chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Every Catholic who supports intrinsic evils is reminded that they will one day stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of themselves and how they lived the ‘Gospel of Life’.

Furthermore, if they obstinately maintain their support for pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia measures, they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion and causing scandal to the faithful of the Church. They need to ponder in their hearts the question that Jesus raises with the obstinate. In firm love, He asks, ‘How are you to escape being sentenced to hell?” At the same time, he adds that as Catholics, we must have concern for immigrants, the suffering, the sick and the poor. We must work for the avoidance of war, the elimination of the death penalty and an end to human and drug-trafficking. “If we are truly going to be pro-life and build a true culture of life, all of these are matters of concern. While there can be legitimate differences regarding solutions for the questions for some issues which are not intrinsic evils, the inherent dignity of the human person from the moment of conception to natural death must be the lens through which all decisions are made.”

Saturday, Nov. 6th, marks the end of the “F.A.C.E.L.I.F.E.,” and “40 Days for Life” Campaign. I extend my prayerful thanks for those parishioners who have assisted in any way in the saving of lives and souls through prayer at the abortuary in West Palm Beach or elsewhere. As we do each First Saturday of the month, we will be gathered at the abortuary in West Palm Beach for Rosary and prayers of exorcism that morning at 9:00. May I invite you to join us in this most worthy spiritual exercise and demonstration of our faith and belief in the sacredness of all human life, especially the unborn who need our advocacy so that they may have life. Parking is made available at Wendy’s on 45th Street, or at the shopping center on the corner of 45th St. and Village Blvd in West Palm Beach.

“Bethany – A Place of Healing” is a support group for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It is sponsored by Catholic Charities Counseling Program of the Diocese of Palm Beach, and is located in Bldg. ‘D’ on our campus. For more info, contact Jeri Kost @ (561) 504-5097. Fr. Michael will be “out of service” for a few weeks after knee surgery this Tuesday. We ask your prayers for his surgery and recovery, and your patience, since we will be short-handed in priestly service for a few weeks. Have you prayed lately for the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers into His harvest? Thank you.

The women’s bathroom in the church is being renovated during these two weeks. Thank you for your patience, and hope that the improvement is well worth the temporary inconvenience. The last touches to the men’s bathroom are still being made, though it is usable. I hope that you like the ongoing improvements; there are more to come. Thank you for your generous support of our recent St. Vincent de Paul Society for the needs of the poor. Your
help to sustain those who are in great need now will reap rewards in this life, too.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-10-17T12:55:21-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/bed95fb2826518fbbadde679b857b7f4-87.html#unique-entry-id-87http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/bed95fb2826518fbbadde679b857b7f4-87.html#unique-entry-id-87For the past 70 years, St. Vincent Ferrer Parish has been serving the spiritual and educational needs of our community. This year marks the 55th year that our school has provided a Catholic education through which our children are instilled with Christian values. While we celebrate this vital history, we also recognize the importance of not only addressing today’s challenges but the need to plan for the future in order to secure the legacy of our parish.

With that goal in mind, we have officially formed a Development Board, charged with the responsibility of creating a strategic plan that will support our goals of financial stability and continuing our efforts to enhance the educational opportunities offered through our school. The board consists of individuals who have experience serving in leadership positions directly related to successful campaigns like the ones we are introducing, and key parish staff members. The members are: Don Bozak, M. Vikki Delgado, John Glover, William Gillis, John Krane, John Krolikowski, and Mimi Meister.

Our strategic plan is well under way and includes the introduction of an annual fund and a capital campaign that you will be hearing more about in the coming months. I thank the members of the board for their willingness to serve in this capacity and all parishioners of good will that are helping to lay the groundwork for our future stability and the many blessings that lie ahead.

Thank you to the faithful members of our parish community who joined in prayer last Saturday evening to honor Our Lady of the Rosary during the annual Candlelight Rosary Vigil. Held on a Saturday evening close to the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary, it’s a perfect opportunity for us to live out the saying that, “The family that prays together, stays together.” We welcome all of our “newcomers” to the parish family, and invite them to this Sunday’s Newcomers’ Gathering in our parish hall after the last morning Mass. I thank Karen Turnbull and the volunteers who have made this orientation and luncheon possible.

Next Sunday, we will have our monthly Pancake Breakfast in Kellaghan Hall between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. Our Knights of Columbus have volunteered once again to offer a delightful meal at a very reasonable cost, and the camaraderie that goes with it; so, bring your whole family and enjoy all that good food and friendship!

On Friday, October 29th, we will have our 2nd annual “Trunk or Treat Night” for the benefit of our school family. It’s an opportunity for families to have fun safely while their children visit from car to car in their usual way of “trick or treating.” It will take place in the main parking lot from 6 to 9 p.m., with advance sales for the parking spaces allotted for the occasion. All vehicles must be in by 6 p.m. Enjoy the fun and the company!

Congratulations to our school athletes who have had quite a successful season with both Girls’ Volleyball and Boys’ Flag Football reaching the playoffs as of this writing. There is an old Latin saying of “Mens sana in corpore sano” (“A healthy mind in a healthy body”), and certainly it accentuates our hope of maintaining well rounded students in our school. “Thank you” to our coaches and parents who help our youngsters to pursue these objectives as part of their overall goal in providing the very best formation for our children.

Our Home and School Association will hold its meeting this Thursday evening, October 21st at 7:00 p.m. in our parish hall. I would like to invite at least one parent from each of our families having children in our parish school to attend. Here’s your chance to find out what events of significance in our parish school will take place during this school year. It’s also an opportunity for you to show your support of your child and to participate in activities which will enhance the purpose of sending your child to an outstanding Catholic school.

Our annual Diocesan Services Appeal for the year 2010 is still in progress. Since our parish and school do benefit from some of the funds allotted to the appeal, we ask you to support our parish goal of $209,000. If you have not yet pledged or given to the appeal, our ushers will be glad to give you an appeal envelope for that purpose. Every offering helps us to reach our goal and not have to depend upon taking from our operating expenses to meet it. Thank you.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-10-10T21:22:01-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1649be377e8ec259e6b112e1e075351a-86.html#unique-entry-id-86http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1649be377e8ec259e6b112e1e075351a-86.html#unique-entry-id-86This weekend, as you consider the needs of others, please consider one of the primary ways we have of extending a Good Samaritan approach to those in need. Your thoughtful contribution to our St. Vincent de Paul Society’s “Bucket Drive,” by placing your donation in their buckets after Mass, will enable them to help more and more people who are straining our charitable resources during the week to help sustain them with just the basics of food and shelter.

Thank you to Dan and Debbie Holthouse, chairpersons of our parish Respect Life Committee, who helped to organize this year’s Respect Life demonstration of Prayer and Witness, held last Sunday on the corner of Federal Highway and Linton Blvd. Thank you, too, to the individuals and families who sacrificed an hour in the blazing sun to participate in this expression of our love for all human life, from the womb to the tomb. It’s become more obvious that, in recent years, more and more cars that pass by give the positive “thumbs up” to what we are saying and doing than those negative and obscene gestures or expressions.

Perhaps the tide is turning away from the pro-death/pro-choice advocates to the pro-Life message and the Gospel of Life.
This Sunday marks the once-in-a-century day that the date is triple-digit equally: 10-10-10! Next Sunday, we welcome our new parish members to a reception and luncheon at 12:30 p.m. If you haven’t been contacted by the parish and are a new member of our parish, please call us at 276-6892 during the regular office hours to get you family name and count for that luncheon.

The renovation of our Men’s lavatory in the church is almost complete, and when it is, we will begin work on the Women’s restroom. These much-needed improvements will allow for better cleaning and maintenance. Thank you for your patience during these renovations. During this month of the Holy Rosary, have you taken time to pray the rosary? There are so many needs that we have, and Mary, our spiritual Mother, has invited us to speak to her Son by praying the rosary to Him through her intercession. Our Lady of the Rosary is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the rosary, whose origin has been attributed to an apparition to Saint Dominic in 1208, in the church of Prouille, France. In 1571, Pope St. Pius V instituted the feast of "Our Lady of Victory" to commemorate the Christian naval victory against the Muslim Turks at Lepanto.

The victory was attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a rosary procession had been offered on that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold back Muslim forces from overrunning Western Europe. Of special note, prior to the battle of Lepanto, Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, built the first shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Victory in thanks for the victory of the Battle of Muret. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to "Feast of the Holy Rosary." This feast was extended by Pope Clement XII to all the faithful of the Latin Rite, inserting it into the calendar of saints in 1716, and assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Then, Pope St. Pius X, in 1913, set the feast date for October 7th, as part of his effort to restore the Sunday liturgies. In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to "Our Lady of the Rosary.”

The Rosary is not a necklace, nor was it ever intended to serve as one. It is a sacramental and, as such, is blessed for the purpose of using it with the intent to keep us focused on the mysteries contained therein. It was the subject of several encyclicals and proclamations, including those of some of our most of our recent popes: Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II. May it be a special reminder of our Lady’s powerful intercession for us. Pray it often!

One of the ways we can help pay for the education of our kids at St. Vincent is the continued use of the Sunday envelope each week, including those that are directly related to the support of our school. This goes a long way in reducing the deficit, for if each school envelope contained a minimum five dollars each month, we would be closer to balancing the books. Many people who don’t have children in our school still support our school in this way. Another way is through sponsorship of a scholarship. These can be done by using the form below or, by writing to the school or parish office, and stating how much you’d like to contribute towards sponsoring one of our students and the amount you’d like to pledge. Monthly tuition for a student is $500, and the families of some of our finest students are in need of financial support, for their sacrifice alone cannot make Catholic education otherwise possible. Thank you for helping our students to have a Catholic education. You can be sure that our children will be praying for you!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-10-02T13:25:01-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fca0daa354534fedbfd2c7192366006b-85.html#unique-entry-id-85http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fca0daa354534fedbfd2c7192366006b-85.html#unique-entry-id-85This Sunday is designated as Respect Life Sunday by the American bishops. Our annual observance of it today will include a very visible demonstration of our commitment to life this afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m., as we pray the Rosary and hold our signs at the intersection of Linton Blvd. and Federal Highway, and proclaim our support for all human life, especially the unborn. I invite you to join me, the priests, the Sisters of our parish, along with other wonderful advocates for life at that time and place. We meet in the parking lot near Carrabba’s Restaurant, where you can get your sign and stand on one of the four corners of that intersection. I hope you can make the sacrifice of one hour for prayer and silent witness for Life.

October is the month of the Holy Rosary. A wonderful way to honor Mary and her Son is to pray the Rosary each day, especially during this month. When we pray it as a family, the Rosary will be the source of many graces for us as individuals and for our family. The honor given Our Lord and His Mother through our family prayer will be a real sign of our love and affection for them, and an expression of our gratitude for the gifts already given us. Teach your little ones how to pray the Rosary, for the family that prays together, stays together. Congratulations to Keith “Rusty” Skinner, who became an official Acolyte of the Church last Sunday when the office was conferred upon him by Bishop Barbarito. This is the final step he takes before becoming a Permanent Deacon next year, God willing, and joining the ranks of Deacons Bruce, Nick and Lee of our parish. The role of an acolyte is one of official service to the priest at the altar of the Lord, and puts him at the head of the list for Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. May God continue to bless him and bring him to the order of Deacon.

We welcome the newest member of our liturgical music team, chief organist Ed Kolcz, to our parish family. He has had much experience playing the organ for churches in our area, and brings a wealth of musical knowledge with him. Mark Galsky, our previous chief organist, has taken on other assignments, but will be featured as organist for us on certain occasions. We wish both of these talented musicians good luck and much success in their artistic endeavors.

Thank you for your kind and generous response to the annual Mission Co-op Collection given last weekend by Father Antony Pulikal, who serves as Parochial Vicar at Holy Spirit Church in Lantana. Your gift of a little under $6,000, will help the Carmelite Fathers in India to continue their missionary work among the poorest people in that country. If you had not been able to contribute to this cause, you may do so this weekend. May God reward you!

This Monday, October 4th, is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. As is our custom, we will be blessing the animals in his honor. You may bring your pet along with family members for either of the two scheduled blessings: 8:00 a.m. OR 7:00 p.m. in the field opposite the west doors of our church. Please remember to bring any necessary equipment (such as a bag and scooper) to clean up after Fido or Fifi (or whatever name you’ve given your pet(s), should they leave an unsolicited calling card.

Thank you for your patience during the renovation of the lavatory facilities in church. We hope that the resultant improvements will make our facilities easier to maintain and more capable of serving your needs. The Men’s restroom is the first to undergo this necessary transition, and will be immediately followed by renovations of the Women’s lavatory. During the re-construction period, please use the designated alternate facilities, including the bathroom in the foyer of the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.

Thank you for your prayers while we went on pilgrimage in Austria and Germany. It’s sure good to be back after our magnificent pilgrimage there to see the once-in-every-ten-years Passion Play in Oberammergau. It is given in a dramatically impressive backdrop of the Alps, complete with chorus and orchestra. It is over five-hours in length and is interrupted by a two-hour dinner break. Some additional highlights for us were celebrating Mass in the magnificent cathedrals of Passau and Salzburg, as well as in several ancient, but very artistically exquisite churches in both countries; taking the Sound of Music tour; touring the birthplace home and baptismal church of Pope Benedict XVI, and the nearby Marian Shrine of the Black Madonna in Altotting; visiting the chapel marking the sight of the original Silent Night carol; experiencing the sobering exhibit at the infamous concentration camp in Dachau; and taking in a nighttime get-away to Oktoberfest. The weather was great, save Saturday’s rain while touring the famous Neuschwanstein Castle (on which Disney modeled his Sleeping Beauty castle). All in all, we enjoyed a delightful experience, and offered many rosaries and Masses for your intentions.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-09-26T13:55:34-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/4c4f5225e729d5e0495ff91acb02c39f-84.html#unique-entry-id-84http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/4c4f5225e729d5e0495ff91acb02c39f-84.html#unique-entry-id-84(Conclusion of a commentary on Archbishop Chaput of Denver’s Address of August 24, 2010, to the Canon Law Association of Slovakia)

Borrowing a phrase from the late Cardinal Henri de Lubac, Archbishop Chaput warned of the rise of "inhuman humanism" and called for a Catholicism of Resistance: “Today's secularizers have learned from the past. They are more adroit in their bigotry; more elegant in their public relations; more intelligent in their work to exclude the Church and individual believers from influencing the moral life of society.” Over the next several decades, Christianity will become a faith that can speak in the public square less and less freely. A society where faith is prevented from vigorous public expression is a society that has fashioned the state into an idol. And when the state becomes an idol, men and women become the sacrificial offering. Cardinal Henri de Lubac once wrote that "It is not true that man cannot organize the world without God. What is true, is that without God, [man] can ultimately only organize it against man. Exclusive humanism is inhuman humanism."

"The West is now steadily moving in the direction of that new "inhuman humanism." And if the Church is to respond faithfully, we need to draw upon the lessons that your Churches learned under totalitarianism. A Catholicism of resistance must be based on trust in Christ's words: "The truth will make you free." This trust gave you insight into the nature of totalitarian regimes. It helped you articulate new ways of discipleship. Rereading the words of the Czech leader Václav Havel to prepare for this talk, I was struck by the profound Christian humanism of his idea of "living within the
truth." Catholics today need to see their discipleship and mission as precisely that: "living within the truth." "We live in a time when the Church is called to be a believing community of resistance. We need to call things by their true names.

We need to fight the evils we see. And most importantly, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that by going along with the voices of secularism and de-Christianization we can somehow mitigate or change things. Only the Truth can set men free. We need to be apostles of Jesus Christ and the Truth he incarnates. So what does this mean for us as individual disciples? Let me offer a few suggestions by way of a conclusion.
"My first suggestion comes again from the great witness against the paganism of the Third Reich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "The renewal of the Western world lies solely in the divine renewal of the Church, which leads her to the fellowship of the risen and living Jesus Christ." The world urgently needs a re-awakening of the Church in our actions and in our public and private witness.

The world needs each of us to come to a deeper experience of our Risen Lord in the company of our fellow believers. The renewal of the West depends overwhelmingly on our faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his Church. "We need to really believe what we say we believe. Then we need to prove it by the witness of our lives. We need to be so convinced of the truths of the Creed that we are on fire to live by these truths, to love by these truths, and to defend these truths, even to the point of our own discomfort and suffering.

We are ambassadors of the living God to a world that is on the verge of forgetting him. Our work is to make God real; to be the face of his love; to propose once more to the men and women of our day, the dialogue of salvation. The lesson of the 20th century is that there is no cheap grace. This God whom we believe in; this God who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to suffer and die for it, demands that we live the same bold, sacrificial pattern of life shown to us by Jesus Christ. The form of the Church, and the form of every Christian life, is the form of the cross. Our lives must become a liturgy, a self-offering that embodies the love of God and the renewal of the world."
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I extend a very special “thank you” to the parents of our school children who worked so diligently to bring us the recent Welcome Back - Family Fun Day on our campus on Saturday, September 11th. With so many volunteering hands to set up, operate and clean up afterwards, it made for an awesome day. God provided an especially beautiful day for us, and everyone who participated in it really seemed to enjoy the few hours set aside for having fun as a family.

May God bless all those who worked so hard to present us with such a pleasant experience. We welcome Father Antony Pulikal, OCD, of Holy Spirit Parish in Lantana, who will make this year’s appeal on behalf of the annual Mission Co-Operative collection. Your generous gift is a wonderful response to God’s blessings in your life.

On Saturday, October 9, we will hold our annual Candlelight Rosary Service at the grotto of the Blessed Virgin at 7:00 p.m. I invite you and your entire family to spend a few moments together in praying the rosary that evening with us. If the weather is inclement, we will pray inside our church. In this month of the Holy Rosary, I encourage all members of our parish family to offer a rosary daily for the needs of our diocese, parish, families, and nation.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-09-10T19:24:26-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/8e685900621c189269d4124606f0341c-83.html#unique-entry-id-83http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/8e685900621c189269d4124606f0341c-83.html#unique-entry-id-83We held our annual observance of the 9-11 tragedy in our church on Friday evening, as we offered our 3rd annual “Blue Mass” and presented our men and women in blue with blessed medals of St. Florian (patron of firefighters) and St. Michael the Archangel (patron of police personnel) and heard the playing of the traditional “Taps” for our departed brothers and sisters. We don’t often show enough appreciation for what these people do for our community or what sacrifices they must make when they enter these professions for the good of all of us. Perhaps next year, more of our parish family will join in on this beautiful tribute to them.

We extend our best wishes to our brothers and sisters in the Jewish faith, as they began their New Year (Rosh Hashana) this past week, and will observe their High Holy Days (Yom Kippur) starting this coming Friday at sundown. Mother Hedwig, Provincial of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who staff our parish and school, will arrive for her annual visitation of our sisters this week. She will be our guest for about one week. We warmly welcome her, and thank her for sending us two wonderful religious women in the persons of Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy, so dedicated to service of their God and His people in our parish. This past week we sent off to God two wonderful mainstays of our parish, in the persons of Theresa George and Jerry Sweeney. Jerry and his surviving brother, Don, have been morning sacristans in our church for many years,
setting up the altar for the 8:30 a.m. weekday Mass. Theresa, mother of our priest-son of this parish, Father Rick George, has been a faithful daily Mass fixture and a long-time member of our Rosary and Altar Society.

These two special individuals loved the Lord and His temple, and radiated that love so amply. They volunteered in their service
to the church without counting the cost or seeking earthly treasures. May they now find the reward of their labors in the beatific vision in heaven!

Speaking of volunteers who don’t seek for an earthly reward, we are grateful to the young men and women who offer their services at God’s altar weekly as Altar Servers. Sometimes we take for granted their willingness to assist at our weekend liturgies to make them run smoothly. They come in all sizes and shapes, and we are truly grateful for their service; our pope does, too.

On August 4th, Pope Benedict XVI thanked tens of thousands of young altar servers for their important service to the church and urged them to "jealously safeguard" their friendship with Jesus. The altar servers were taking part in a two-day pilgrimage to Rome organized by a European-based association which was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The pope was flown to the Vatican by helicopter Aug. 4 to give his first general audience since beginning his summer vacation July 7 at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. More than 80,000 pilgrims cheered and waved at the sky as an Italian military helicopter carrying the pope circled over St. Peter's Square.

Upon his arrival in the square, the pope was presented with a white pilgrim bandana, which he wore draped over his shoulders; he said the gift reminded him of his own years as a young altar server. The pilgrims in the square and along the top of the colonnade included more than 53,000 male and female altar servers, from 17 European countries. He told the altar servers that they were very fortunate to be able to take part in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharist "is a precious good, a priceless treasure and the bread of life" with which Jesus nourishes and sustains his flock, giving people the love and strength they need in their daily lives. By assisting priests at the altar, the servers help bring Jesus closer to the people and make him ever more present in the world, the pope told them.

He said that dedicating their time and hearts to God will bring altar servers "true joy and more complete happiness." He said, "Tell your peers about the gift of this friendship with joy, with enthusiasm and without fear." As part of the international pilgrimage, a 16-foot-tall, four-and-a-half ton bronze statue of St. Tarcisius, the patron saint of altar servers, was temporarily placed in St. Peter's Square. The statue made a two-year pilgrimage of its own, traveling from Switzerland to Hungary and finally to Rome. It was to be moved August 5th to its final destination, outside the ancient Catacombs of St. Callistus, where the young 3rd-century saint is believed to have been buried. According to tradition, the boy (or young man, who could even have been an acolyte or a deacon) was killed by a mob while defending the Eucharist he was carrying to prisoners and the homebound.
The pope said the young martyr, Tarcisius, exemplifies "the deep love and great veneration that we should have toward the Eucharist." While martyrdom will probably not be asked of most young people in Europe today, he said, Jesus is calling everyone to be faithful "to the little things, to everyday duties and to witnessing His love by going to church and spending time with people who help deepen your faith.”
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-08-14T16:17:00-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c0ae107951b1fcc5753d2a07bdcb3fc0-82.html#unique-entry-id-82http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c0ae107951b1fcc5753d2a07bdcb3fc0-82.html#unique-entry-id-82An interesting part of our experience in Guatemala most recently was the opportunity to speak with clergy and laity who are active in the Church there, and ask why that country was witnessing a sharp decline in the Catholic population and a rise in the non-mainline Christian denominations in the last twenty years. It was almost like a repeat of lessons in Church History that I had studied for four years in the seminary; I could see it coming!

The long experience of the Catholic Church has included many seasons of decline and renewal. Throughout the centuries, the Church has striven by preaching and exhortation to help individual Christians reform their lives. The universal Church likewise has undertaken major institutional reforms, for example: the Gregorian reform of the 11th century, which imposed stricter discipline on the clergy and secured the independence of the Church from secular control.

At many times in her history, the Church has been threatened by false reforms, which, if accepted, would have denatured her. Such reforms were attempted by the Donatists in the 4th century, the Waldensians in the 12th, the so-called “Spiritual Franciscans” in the 13th, John Wycliffe in the 14th, and John Hus in the 15th. The Conciliar Movement [also] in the 15th century brought forth some good fruits, but came to a bad end at the Council of Basel. Attempting to convert the Church into a kind of constitutional monarchy, it ran afoul of the Catholic doctrine of papal primacy.

By the beginning of the 16th century, the necessity of a thoroughgoing reform was generally recognized. After the failure if the 5th Lateran Council to achieve this objective, the whole Church teemed with reform movements, notably among Christian humanists such as Erasmus, John Colet and St. Thomas More. Catholic cardinals, such as James Sadoleto, Reginald Pole and John P. Caraffa, proposed timely reforms some years before the Council of Trent.

Luther and some of his colleagues also took up the theme of reform, but in the name of “correcting abuses,” they attacked the essentials of the Catholic Faith and became totally separated from the Church. To counteract this negative movement, reform decrees of the Council of Trent targeted some of the real abuses and continued to bear excellent fruits long after the Council. But in the next few centuries, the term “reform” became suspect among Catholics because it seemed to have a Protestant ring.

The First Vatican Council ran counter to certain reform movements of the 19th century. It successfully eliminated the remnants of the Conciliar Movement and, in the form of Gallicanism, crushed ecclesiastical nationalism and its counterparts in several nations. As a result, the papacy maintained uncontested control of the Catholic Church through the middle of the 20th century.
It was only with the advent of the Second Vatican Council, a dream of Pope Pius XII, but not fulfilled until the reigns of Pope John XXIII and Paul VI, that a true and updated reform of the Church began to take hold.

Some have maintained (and continue to do so) that Vatican II was the beginning of a downfall of the Church (actor Mel Gibson and his father seem to be among them), but that’s most likely because they have not read the documents of the Council in their fullness, nor understood what the leading Fathers of the Church in this age were saying to strengthen the Church. Some “changes” that quickly followed the Council were not always authentic, nor based on a true reading or understanding of the Council documents, so that much chaos began to erupt in the Church under the guise of “conciliar reform.” What was often looked upon as “change” in the Church was really not substantive in any way, and people began to look at the results of that Council with a jaundiced eye or skepticism that continues until today.

Fortunately, with the mass media of communication that we have at our disposal, we can go back to examine all that the Church has tried to teach us and hopefully begin to understand just what are the real needs of the People of God and how could they come to be addressed properly.

Next weekend, we will be honored to have as our guest at Mass, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, of the Vatican, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. He will speak to us, and then he will take up a second collection for the Good Samaritan Foundation, which was instituted by the late Pope John Paul II to assist the most needy sick people, especially in Africa. I pray that during these difficult economic times, we may still be able to reach deep enough into our treasure to help others who really have nothing.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-09-04T16:13:03-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c4f4f0574123fe137235741fd98e1dbf-81.html#unique-entry-id-81http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c4f4f0574123fe137235741fd98e1dbf-81.html#unique-entry-id-81Next weekend, we’ll have some special Masses and observances. On Friday, September 10th, the eve of our “9-11” anniversary, I invite you and your family to honor our men and women in domestic service to our city and county as we celebrate our 3rd Annual Blue Mass for Police, Firefighters and Paramedics & Emergency Response Personnel, beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be followed by a reception in our hall. On this occasion, I ask you to take time away from work or play, and come as a family to pray for the victims of our national and local tragedies, and honor those people who have dedicated their lives in service to protect us from physical violence and related harm, including those who have given their lives to protect us. If you are one of these personnel, you are most welcome to be in uniform for that solemn celebration.

On Saturday, September 11th, we’ll have our semi-annual Mass of Anointing and Healing of the Sick. If you, or a member of your household, are afflicted with a physical, mental or an emotional illness, or you have reached senior years and are really feeling the effects of the aging process, I invite you to come to this Mass and be blessed and anointed. This anointing is a Sacrament, and is intended only for the sick or aging, and not for all in attendance. However, caregivers and other people who take the time to be with us in prayer are most welcome and will receive a special blessing at this Mass. There will be a nice luncheon in our Family Life
Center immediately after the Mass.

I thank all those kind people who volunteered their time and talent to assist our Respect Life Committee, under the leadership of Dan & Debbie Holthouse, in enrolling several of our parish members in the 40 Days for Life program. This program begins September 22nd and ends on October 31st. During that time frame, we are asked to give just one hour in prayer across the street from the Presidential Women’s abortion center on W. 45th Street in West Palm Beach.

You are cordially invited to partake in the First Annual Dinner Dance Gala to support our Birthline/Lifeline Centers. It will take place on the Feast of the Guardian Angels, October 2nd at 6:00 p.m. at the Marriott Regency Ballroom in West Palm Beach (how appropriate the day!). If you would like to make a reservation and purchase tickets, please call 278-0894. You’ll enjoy a wonderful evening with our bishop and many other people who want to save the pre-born so that they can grow to make a difference in our world.

Recently, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta made an implicitly pro-life argument during a report about how toxic chemicals affect unborn children. He said, “Here in the womb, enveloped in darkness and warmth, a baby’s life begins in earnest. It is a sacred space, pristine, insulated, more than nine months of safe refuge from the world outside.” A CGI (computer-generated imagery) of a baby in the womb played as he continued: “We imagine a baby sort of nice and safe and tucked away in the womb, impervious to all the assaults that occur on the body.” Sadly, while twice referring to the unborn human as a “baby,” he made no mention of assaults on the baby by way of abortion. Yet, it shows that what goes on in the human mind and heart can often be in strong opposition
to what we verbalize, especially with regard to a respect for human life when it is downplayed by the secular media or lambasted by a God-less society.

This past Friday, we just celebrated the commissioning of our 8th grade students in their new and various roles of leadership in our school community. Among their responsibilities will be the role to help set the tone for continued excellence in our school, especially as they guide the little ones through the education process. We pray that they may do so in leading their peers by good examples in work, prayer and playtime; in exercising a stewardship of time, talent and treasure; and in believing, hoping in and loving God above anything or anyone else.

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, often considered the last one of the summer. I hope that all those who have the chance for an extended vacation or even a short one will enjoy it. Of course, our offices (church and school) will be closed on Monday (Labor Day), but our church is always open for those who have time for God. God bless you all!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-08-26T16:25:03-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f9520fd0063c0d85ab2b394253f0bcc5-80.html#unique-entry-id-80http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f9520fd0063c0d85ab2b394253f0bcc5-80.html#unique-entry-id-80If we are faithful to our call to be children of God, then our stewardship of time, talent and treasure are supposed to be woven into the fabric of each one of us; this includes adults, teens and youngsters. For this reason, we’ve been trying to integrate more young people into the life and activity of our parish, with the purpose of assuming their proper responsibilities in our parish family, including financial support. We’ve been blessed in our land and our Church with so many gifts from God, and along with these gifts comes the responsibility to be faithful stewards of these gifts. Yet, our lack of carefully accountability to God in many matters brings us into some scary prospects of where we are going in life, and how are we going to get there.

I’m not a daytime TV-watcher, so I only get to watch the news or a limited amount of other programs in the evening when the day’s activities are concluded, all the meetings are over and the parish office has quieted down. But by that time, it seems, more than twenty minutes of television watching usually puts me fast to sleep. Though it sure beats counting sheep, it’s not as relaxed as falling asleep praying the Rosary. However, when recently watching an enlightening TV interview with a ranking official of the U.S. Department of Labor, I remained quite alert as I heard her matter-offact statement that current unemployment figures in our country have hovered for many months at nearly ten percent.

Even though that information was not new to me, it struck me now more distinctly when that official emphasized, in a very dramatic way, that nearly 37 percent of Americans aged 18 to 30 have been jobless or underemployed during the current recession. Additionally, about 28 percent of all households have at least one member currently seeking a full-time job. One time “empty-nester” homes are filling up again as individuals (and even couples) are returning to their childhood home for financial and emotional support. As many family budgets are being strained, and savings are being plundered to meet just the most basic and necessary expenses, traditional notions of family, respect, privacy and responsibility will surely need significant adjusting.

This entire social upheaval means there is more than a significant number of young people who may have a lot of time on their hands and a lot of despair in their lives. This is certainly not a good mixture, in general, neither for those individuals nor for our society. What direction they ultimately may take in order to alleviate their frustrations or the pain of hopelessness could affect them in the most negative of ways, and have dire consequences that last for the rest of their lives. Joblessness causes such a spiritual malaise that, if not remedied, can lead to almost total despair.

As repeatedly emphasized in the encyclicals of most of the last ten popes of the Church, honest and honorable employment
has a spiritual component that positively affects both the individual and society. But when even lower-level survival jobs are hard to find, everyone really becomes stressed, because knowing that earned wages promote not only material wealth, but also a sense of self-sufficiency, of control over our choices, we feel powerless to achieve our perceived goals.

Our parish family is not immune from the financial debacle that plagues our society. Families, individuals and even the parish itself have been beset by the failure of the economy to get back on its feet and march to a more regular tempo. In families, financial problems will occur when spouses fail to communicate about money issues, leading to a lack of unity in marriage. It also happens when we seek satisfaction in our lives by acquiring and accumulating “stuff.” Credit card bondage has “done in” more than several families, individuals and businesses. Sometimes we carelessly put ourselves in a precarious financial position without even thinking of what effect this can have on the spiritual side of our lives. This materialism eventually gets in the way of our relationship with one another and, even more so, our God.

How much do we include God in our financial and other daily decisions? How do our priorities in life reflect our belief in Him? Have we established a strong relationship with Him in making our day-to-day choices? Maybe we’ve been trying to do too much on our own, without invoking God’s help in a prayerful and meaningful way. How much time do we make for Him in our life? How often do we spend our time in prayer with Him? What about just sitting in His Presence in the Adoration Chapel? We have received so much from Him in the way of faith, life, family, freedom and opportunities, but do we even take the time to really thank Him, or to contemplate His gifts and wonder why He gave them to us? Do we willingly share these gifts with those in need?

Here is a prayer that I would encourage you to offer during these difficult times, especially if your family or friends are subjected to the trying situation of little or no employment.

Gracious and loving God, You know our need for meaningful work. Send your Holy Spirit to guide those who are searching for employment. Help them to recognize the gifts and talents You have given them. Deepen their desire to follow your Will. Inspire them as they contact potential employers. Give them patience as they wait for responses. Shelter them from the feelings of rejection. Protect them from discouragement. Give them courage to overcome fear. Shower on them the grace they need to persevere. Let this time of searching be an opportunity to grow in faith, to cultivate the virtue of hope and to experience your healing love. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-08-19T17:00:28-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/6766fca0236d32633691de370fba61bb-79.html#unique-entry-id-79http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/6766fca0236d32633691de370fba61bb-79.html#unique-entry-id-79In one of our recent weekday Gospel readings, the Apostles asked Jesus about their sacrifice to follow Him: “What’s in it for me?” His response was probably not one which interested some of them (most noticeably, Judas). But ultimately He pointed out that their reward would be “out of this world!” So many people ask the same question of Jesus’ Church when it comes to the issue of volunteerism. So, I ask, “Where did ‘good old Volunteerism’ go?” Well, according to some recent results to requests for help in several areas of our parish (lectors, musicians, altar servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, etc.), it has been found, albeit in somewhat limited form, in our parish. Several people offered to help count the collection on rotating Mondays; a few people have offered their services in the parish rectory to relieve Linda and Susan from their heavyladen work schedule; and one of our fathers helped our maintenance staff to prepare the school and playground for an on-time opening. Maybe they will inspire others who have time on their hands. God bless them all!

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski has asked me to convey his heartfelt appreciation for your generosity in answer to his appeal for the Good Samaritan Foundation to help the sickly poor in Africa and Asia. We came in just shy of $2,600, and I hope that we will reach that goal when the envelopes left in our pews will be filled out and sent in. Thank you for your kind response!

You may have noticed the mechanisms in church for the installation of new AV screens being placed in the beam area over the choir and its corresponding space on the opposite side of our sanctuary. These screens will be a big help to us not only when we are presenting the annual Diocesan Services Appeal or the appeal for our mission in Guatemala, but for eventual use for posting our hymns and several other important items that can be viewed from almost anywhere in the church, such as announcements before Mass, important pictures of a religious nature, messages from our Holy Father, and even reminders about not leaving Mass early and missing God’s blessing. The installation experts are trying to work in between weekday Masses,
funerals and choir practice. We hope to have everything ready before the end of September, so that these screens, which can go up and down electronically, will not detract from the decorum of our beautiful church.

It was “back-to-school” for our “munchkins” this past week, and so many seemed quite excited with the changes that they had already noticed. Quite a few new students had applied over the summer and enrolled in our quality program, and a number of our former students did not return for various reasons (mostly economic ones, although some moved). We’re glad to have 250 children in our school program under the capable administration of Mrs. M. Vikki Delgado, our Principal. We continue to make improvements to the physical plant of the school, and the cleanup of the building and of the floor in our gym were major projects during the summer. A few new members of the faculty will enhance our educational project, and most of our faculty has returned. We ask your special prayers for the improved health of three of them.

In order to try to keep down the deficit created by the expenses in running the school, our kids are counting on your support of the fund-raising effort we have planned for the year. You may not know it, but the cost of educating just one child in our school is expected to jump next year to nearly $9400. Previous sibling discounts, an actual drain on the budget, have to be reduced in order to try to balance the budget, though there are an increasing number of scholarships and grants-in-aid to help a number of our families make it through these rough economic times as they send their children to a Catholic school for a quality Catholic education. Tuition is $6100, plus additional costs for registration, fees, etc., bring it even higher. So, your help is valuable.

One of the ways we can help pay for the education of our kids at St. Vincent is the continued use of the Sunday envelope each week, including those that are directly related to the support of our school. This goes a long way in reducing the deficit, for if each school envelope contained a minimum five dollars each month, we would be closer to balancing the books. Many people who don’t have children in our school still support our school in this way. Another way is through sponsorship of a scholarship. These can be done by using the form below or, by writing in to the school or parish office and stating how much you’d like to contribute towards sponsoring one of our students and the amount you’d like to pledge. Monthly tuition for a student is $500, and the families of some of our finest students are in need of financial support, for their sacrifice alone cannot make Catholic education otherwise possible. Thank you for helping our students to have a Catholic education!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-08-07T18:55:46-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/6d83c86aeeeab4f5480ca9dcc5b520c7-78.html#unique-entry-id-78http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/6d83c86aeeeab4f5480ca9dcc5b520c7-78.html#unique-entry-id-78We welcome Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski to our parish this weekend, along with his secretary, Monsignor Peter Supierz. The Archbishop has already completed one year as the President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers. He will speak at the Masses, and we will take up a collection for the Good Samaritan Foundation next week (a correction to last week’s bulletin notice because the 2nd collection this week is for The Church in Latin America).

The Good Samaritan Foundation assists the most needy of sick people, especially in Africa. It’s always good to be back on U.S. soil after days away in a foreign country. Our mission trip this year in the rain forest of Guatemala included the construction of twenty wooden table/bench combinations for the new library, as well as a very suitable altar for the celebration of Mass at the Father Tom Moran Education Center. We brought over 850 rosaries with us for the priests to distribute in their villages, as well as for the people in the villages we visited.

Our Knights of Columbus made donations of cash to the parish that covers this area to enhance the catechetical work of the priests and sisters that travel to over three-dozen villages during the course of a year to keep the faith alive in a land that is constantly being besieged by foreign evangelicals trying to re-convert the Catholics.

Needless to say, the priests and the people we met were extremely kind to us and grateful for your continued
support of them in their striving to better their lives and living conditions in that part of the world. Although only a little over two hours from Miami, the country we visit seems to be half-a-world away. Despite years of civil war and political strife and corruption in successive governments, the people now seem to be making some headway. What was amazing for our group was that we discovered an active council of the Knights of Columbus in one of the large parishes in Antigua City. It’s nice to know that this brotherhood of Catholic men is not only so widespread, but it is the largest Catholic fraternal in the world.

Although our mission trip in Guatemala was a great success in the work accomplished, it was not without its difficult moment. That came when we were touring the colorful outdoor/indoor market in the ancient capital city of Antigua. Two of our men had their wallets stolen (literally, slit) from their pockets, with one of them also losing his passport. That is always a difficult situation when one tries to leave one country to re-enter ours. So that meant filing for another temporary passport, and with the U.S. embassy offices being closed on a weekend, it meant staying an extra day away from home, while hoping to catch the first available flight back to Florida. Thank God, that was the worst (and the first) such encounter on our nine trips with the Knights of Columbus to Guatemala. We’ll be better
prepared for such an encounter next year!

As a special service for our homebound members of the parish, if you wish to view the homily for last Sunday’s recorded TV Mass that I celebrated, you may click on to the following website: http:// diocesepb.org/multimedia/homily/index.html. You can do the same for this week’s homily by clicking on the same this Monday. This is a new service provided by our diocese, and is made possible, in part, by your contribution to the annual DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal). Bishop Barbarito thanks you for your support of the DSA, and so do I. As we come closer to reaching our goal, and if you have not yet made your pledge, I ask you to truly consider being part of all the good our donations will assist for the many services rendered by the Church in this five-county Diocese of Palm Beach. May God reward you in kind for your gift!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-07-30T09:07:34-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/3c9b1bd7440cc04902f57aacc45645b6-77.html#unique-entry-id-77http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/3c9b1bd7440cc04902f57aacc45645b6-77.html#unique-entry-id-77An interesting part of our experience in Guatemala most recently was the opportunity to speak with clergy and laity who are active in the Church there, and ask why that country was witnessing a sharp decline in the Catholic population and a rise in the non-mainline Christian denominations in the last twenty years. It was almost like a repeat of lessons in Church History that I had studied for four years in the seminary; I could see it coming!

The long experience of the Catholic Church has included many seasons of decline and renewal. Throughout the centuries, the Church has striven by preaching and exhortation to help individual Christians reform their lives. The universal Church likewise has undertaken major institutional reforms, for example: the Gregorian reform of the 11th century, which imposed stricter discipline on the clergy and secured the independence of the Church from secular control.

At many times in her history, the Church has been threatened by false reforms, which, if accepted, would have denatured her. Such reforms were attempted by the Donatists in the 4th century, the Waldensians in the 12th, the so-called “Spiritual Franciscans” in the 13th, John Wycliffe in the 14th, and John Hus in the 15th. The Conciliar Movement [also] in the 15th century brought forth some good fruits, but came to a bad end at the Council of Basel. Attempting to convert the Church into a kind of constitutional monarchy, it ran afoul of the Catholic doctrine of papal primacy.

By the beginning of the 16th century, the necessity of a thoroughgoing reform was generally recognized. After the failure if the 5th Lateran Council to achieve this objective, the whole Church teemed with reform movements, notably among Christian humanists such as Erasmus, John Colet and St. Thomas More. Catholic cardinals, such as James Sadoleto, Reginald Pole and John P. Caraffa, proposed timely reforms some years before the Council of Trent.

Luther and some of his colleagues also took up the theme of reform, but in the name of “correcting abuses,” they attacked the essentials of the Catholic Faith and became totally separated from the Church. To counteract this negative movement, reform decrees of the Council of Trent targeted some of the real abuses and continued to bear excellent fruits long after the Council. But in the next few centuries, the term “reform” became suspect among Catholics because it seemed to have a Protestant ring.

The First Vatican Council ran counter to certain reform movements of the 19th century. It successfully eliminated the remnants of the Conciliar Movement and, in the form of Gallicanism, crushed ecclesiastical nationalism and its counterparts in several nations. As a result, the papacy maintained uncontested control of the Catholic Church through the middle of the 20th century. It was only with the advent of the Second Vatican Council, a dream of Pope Pius XII, but not fulfilled until
the reigns of Pope John XXIII and Paul VI, that a true and updated reform of the Church began to take hold. Some have maintained (and continue to do so) that Vatican II was the beginning of a downfall of the Church (actor Mel Gibson and his father seem to be among them), but that’s most likely because they have not read the documents of the Council in their fullness, nor understood what the leading Fathers of the Church in this age were saying to strengthen the Church.

Some “changes” that quickly followed the Council were not always authentic, nor based on a true reading or understanding of the Council documents, so that much chaos began to erupt in the Church under the guise of “conciliar reform.” What was often looked upon as “change” in the Church was really not substantive in any way, and people began to look at the results of that Council with a jaundiced eye or skepticism that continues until today. Fortunately, with the mass media of communication that we have at our disposal, we can go back to examine all that the Church has tried to teach us and hopefully begin to understand just what are the real needs of the People of God and how could they come to be addressed properly.

Next weekend, we will be honored to have as our guest at Mass, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, of the Vatican, President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. He will speak to us, and then he will take up a second collection for the Good Samaritan Foundation, which was instituted by the late Pope John Paul II to assist the most needy sick people, especially in Africa. I pray that during these difficult economic times, we may still be able to reach deep enough into our treasure to help others who really have nothing.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-07-27T17:38:35-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eae483d6231d3b012b09bd1c92185a83-76.html#unique-entry-id-76http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eae483d6231d3b012b09bd1c92185a83-76.html#unique-entry-id-76Our Knights have been busy in Guatemala, constructing table and benches for the new library (we made the foundation for the library on our trip last summer, and the locals constructed the basic structure during the year on what we thought was going to be just a basketball court). The students are proud of the progress that has taken place in their school over the past few years.

The enrollment has quadrupled in seven years, and the government is now seeking to use our Father Tom Moran Educational Center as a model for more programs to go up throughout the country. In this way, the local population will be educating more and more people locally, and they will become the
future leaders of their communities, without necessarily having to leave their country to seek opportunities for work and a decent living standard.

In the meantime, I learned that the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was capped (we flew over it on our way to Guatemala last Saturday). I sure hope it is the beginning of the end of the BP problem. Likewise, I read that the U.S. Senate was ready to confirm the newest nominee for our highest court in the land. You can be sure I’m among the many who are not happy or impressed with her credentials, as she moves closer to that exalted position on the judiciary.

Nonetheless, her ability to rise that rapidly has been quite a clever move on the part of some to alter the
high court’s centrist leaning, and to try to impose a new type of “national morality,” as it seeks to modify the ethical standards of our great nation. If you don’t think so, consider the following:
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan reportedly “considers abortion rights to be settled law” (USA Today, May 21, p. 5A). You can bet that during her confirmation process you will have heard a number of Senators echo that assertion.

Yet, America’s courts and legislatures have a proud history of changing “settled law.” We have, on various occasions, recovered our senses and recognized the equal dignity of those who were deprived of their rights and even suffered violence (which was given legal cover under a different name; this legal cover was mistakenly recognized by the Supreme Court for a while, but then such decisions were overturned). The Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856) case is the most commonly cited instance. In it, the slaveholder's right to property eclipsed and subsumed the slave's right to freedom. But our Constitution was eventually amended to correct the error, though it took a little time to undo that decision.

Decisions like Lochner v. New York (1905) show us another error: employers' right to contract eclipsed and subsumed the workers' rights to humane conditions and hours. These abuses were corrected by subsequent Supreme Court decisions like Muller v. Oregon and Bunting v. Oregon. Then the "Separate but equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) sanctioning segregation was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education some 58 years later. Also, erroneous decisions like Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) institutionalized child labor. But this was overturned 23 years later by United States v. Darby. A new development -- a "pedagogical moment" -- occurred here in Constitutional law.

The question was whether constitutional rights applied to children, too. The answer was “yes.” Many reversals of Supreme Court cases came about when new evidence was brought forward that made it clear
that someone's rights, not previously recognized, were being violated. Thus, Justice Louis Brandeis brought forward the facts about how workers were being harmed.

We are now witnessing the same trend regarding the children in the womb. Evidence that has been around for quite some time demonstrating their humanity is finding its way into legislatures and courts. One of the most striking instances comes out of South Dakota. Federal courts have upheld South Dakota’s law requiring that abortion providers tell women that the procedure destroys a “whole, separate, unique, living human being.” This came about because of the evidence presented to the court regarding the humanity of the unborn child.

With hundreds of embryological studies, and massive evidence of the harm abortion does to women, such evidence, combined with new legal concepts, can challenge Roe vs. Wade in the same way its erroneous ancestral decisions were challenged. Interestingly enough, the very day after Roe v. Wade was decided, the front page of The New York Times said, “Supreme Court Settles Abortion.” Yet, it has remained the most unsettled issue on our national landscape.

The facts above should shape the way that senators, Supreme Court nominees, and all the rest of us speak about Roe v. Wade and the so-called “right” to choose an abortion. History should shape our language, and should strengthen our hope that the abortion policy can change again, just as radically as it did in 1973. May we pray fervently and work hard for that change!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-07-16T10:01:17-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d3fe0a0d2908401a23373cf534c1f74e-75.html#unique-entry-id-75http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d3fe0a0d2908401a23373cf534c1f74e-75.html#unique-entry-id-75E. Paul Weber, faithful sacristan, church opener and reader for our early morning weekday Masses for many years, was called home to the Lord while I was on retreat. It’s something of an understatement to say that we will miss him and his service to our parish. To me, he embodied the spirit of volunteerism that characterizes a true Catholic and Christian believer – service to God and His Church because he loved God and his church, without looking for something in return. That is what is often referred to as true stewardship, since we are all stewards of God’s gifts to us.

Paul always wanted to be close to Jesus, and we pray that he has found that abiding closeness now. May his family (both by blood and by faith) always be inspired by his example of loving service. May he enjoy God’s presence as a final reward of a job well-done on earth!

Beginning this Tuesday, the bridge over the Intracoastal is closed until December 13th. This will create a challenge for some of our parishioners and visitors to get to church. Fortunately, the alternative bridges at Atlantic Avenue and Woolbright Rd. are still available. It may take a little extra time and planning, but we still look forward to having you join us for Sunday worship and our parish activities between now and then.

Catholic News Service this past Tuesday featured a national article they picked up from our diocesan editor for the Florida Catholic newspaper, parishioner Linda Reeves. She wrote about the story of another parishioner, Jack Foley, and his efforts to help the people of the Gulf coast region to clean up after the environmental disaster brought on by the BP oil spill. Previously, Jack had worked in our parish office here, and is still involved with the responsibility of guiding our Sunday Mass ushering when he is in town. Congratulations to both of these parishioners!

The annual trek to our parish mission in Guatemala is underway as you read this. Our Knights of Columbus from this parish are joined by Knights from Royal Palm Beach and distinguished guest Knights (Florida Knights State officers, including the past State Deputy, his son and his brother, as well as our State Treasurer).

We’ll be working at the library in the Father Tom Moran Education Center, building tables and seats for the students, and finishing off the library that your generous financial support in that special collection last March helped to build. The State Council gave us a generous grant this year for the trip. There is a fine article about our efforts in the July edition of the Coastal Star newspaper by C.B Hanif; I think you’ll enjoy the write-up, complete with some pictures of last year’s trip.

The annual installation of new officers of the K of C in our parish took place last week, and I wish to congratulate the new officers (as previously listed in this bulletin). I also extend my gratitude to our parish Knights who contributed a generous grant of $2,000 to those of us who are travelling to our Guatemalan mission to help us cover the expenses of the trip. This is part of their charity work, and is the result of their successful fund-raising efforts during the year. God bless Chris Grant, their Grand Knight again this year, and the men who tirelessly
work to help the good of this parish and promote the good of the Catholic Church. Would that more men could join them as Knights in their fabulous efforts at building up Christ’s Body – the Church!

Speaking of installations, there’s a new roof recently installed on our convent, and our men are putting the finishing touches on the rest of the adjoining area to make the house a more suitable home for our Sisters. They express their thanks, as I do, for your generous support of our parish improvement efforts. Many more projects are to be done, but we take them on, one-by-one, with the help of some very special people.

We are well into our 70th year as a parish, and next April, we’ll have a special Mass to mark the closing of this anniversary year. It’s hard to believe that we’ve come so far in these years, including the nearly five that I’ve been here. We have a way to go, including continually trying to work to support our flagship school. Did you realize that it costs an average of nearly $8,500 to educate one of our students? Tuition does not cover all of this, so we’re into fundraising and gift-giving in order to keep it going. Your participation in those activities and your support of our parish through the Sunday collection envelopes each week helps us lower the additional costs that would accrue if we had to make the school self-sufficient, as some dioceses do.

Several people asked about the “removal” of the banner marking the “Year for Priests” that was displayed for the past year in our sanctuary. Well, the year is over, so the purpose for the banner is completed. We’re most grateful to parishioner Joe Santarella, who provided us with that gift which adorned our altar area. Joe also is one of our faithful lectors at weekend Masses. May God continue to bless those who offer their volunteer services without expecting rewards. I can assure you that their rewards are “out of this world.”
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-07-08T20:14:46-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c136dd5ceb474e4e02e7da3402ac11b1-74.html#unique-entry-id-74http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/c136dd5ceb474e4e02e7da3402ac11b1-74.html#unique-entry-id-74Can you believe it? An atheist organization is blasting the U.S. Postal Service for its plan to honor Mother Teresa of Calcutta with a commemorative stamp, saying it violates postal regulations against honoring “individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings.” The Freedom from Religion Foundation is urging its supporters to boycott the stamp — and also to engage in a letter writing campaign to spread the word about what it calls the “darker side” of Mother Teresa.

Foundation spokeswoman Annie Laurie Gaylor said that issuing the stamp runs against Postal Service regulations: “Mother Teresa is principally known as a religious figure, who ran a religious institution. You can’t really separate her being a nun and being a Roman Catholic from everything she did.”

The stamp -- set to be released on Aug. 26, which would have been Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday -- will recognize the Nobel laureate for her humanitarian work, the Postal Service announced last month. Mother Teresa was a woman universally beloved across the globe for her humanitarian efforts in India and around the world. Her work with the poor and the dying, the disabled and disadvantaged, with refugees, and so on, earned her the Nobel Peace Prize (imagine that, an honor actually earned) in 1979.

“Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years,” the Postal Service said in a press release. “Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations.” So when the U. S. Postal Service decided to honor her life with acommemorative stamp, most people were happy. But of course, since a Christian is being honored, a group of atheists are "outrageously outraged" and want the Post Office to cancel the stamp.

Postal Service spokesman Roy Betts expressed surprise at the protest, given the long list of previous honorees with strong religious backgrounds, including Malcolm X, the former chief spokesman for the Nation of Islam, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “In fact we honored Father Flanagan in 1986 for his humanitarian work. This has nothing to do with religion or faith,” Betts told FoxNews.com. But Gaylor said the atheist group opposed Father Flanagan’s stamp, too, but not those for King and Malcolm X, because she said they were known for their civil rights activities, not for their religion. She said, Martin Luther King “just happened to be a minister,” and “Malcolm X was not principally known for being a religious figure,” she said. “And he’s not honorific.”

It seems to me that they’re kind of picking and choosing who they’re outraged over, aren’t they? Martin Luther King Jr. was just as well-known a Christian as Mother Teresa was. I doubt Martin Luther King thought he “just happened to be a Baptist Minister?” And what difference does it make if someone who is being honored for their good works was a Catholic nun or not anyway? Being a Catholic nun or a Christian leader is not something you can separate those two people from. Is the argument, then, that you can’t honor a good person who did amazing things for their entire life simply because they were Catholic?

Gaylor also attacked Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, saying it was a “wealthy” charity, and that she — shockingly! — was against abortion and wanted to baptize people before they died. She says this is part of the Roman Catholic Church’s “PR machine” to make Mother Teresa a saint (because, you know, canonization as a saint always involves shadowy conspiracies with the USPS!). (I know it’s tough for some people to understand, but Catholics tend to be… anti-abortion, and they want people to be baptized and accept Christ as their savior; they have this whole thing about not wanting people to go to hell -- as crazy a concept as that might be!)

The USPS spokesman Roy Betts has said that the reaction to the Mother Teresa stamp has so far been overwhelmingly positive. Most people love and respect her because of all she did for so many others. Mother Theresa’s charity did indeed massively expand over the course of her lifetime. At the time of her death, 610 missions were operating in 123 countries. The work being done at these missions included: hospices, homes for people suffering from diseases such as leprosy and HIV/AIDS, caring for alcoholics, the disabled, refugees, victims of natural disasters, the poor and the blind, soup kitchens, orphanages, and so on. But I guess because she was, after all, first and foremost a Catholic nun who didn’t struggle with her mission of humanitarian relief in a little hut on the side of some road in Calcutta, so the Foundation wants us to completely ignore all the good she was able to do. She was successful in helping thousands upon thousands of people around the world, but because she was Catholic, maybe all of that should just be ignored. To the Freedom from Religion Foundation, probably a better person to look up to (and whose stamp we should all buy!) is Katharine Hepburn… an actress and an atheist!!!

So, to sum up, the FFRF wants to keep Mother Theresa from being honored — despite her good works and humanitarian efforts — simply because she was a Catholic nun, even though the majority of people seem not to be offended. It seems pretty obvious to me that this is a gross overreaction, and an immature one at that. But let’s not underestimate their efforts or anything. They’re already starting a letter-writing campaign… and you can bet that they believe that will surely teach the Post Office a lesson! But you can contact the Postmaster- General and express your support and gratitude for the Mother Theresa Stamp!!! Write: The Honorable John E. Potter, Postmaster General - U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-0010.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-07-01T12:42:26-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/996f44ca5d1b2c219dd9c28f80551039-73.html#unique-entry-id-73http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/996f44ca5d1b2c219dd9c28f80551039-73.html#unique-entry-id-73
This Sunday, we celebrate the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence for our country from Great Britain. It’s rather difficult for me to fathom that we are now 34 years past the bicentennial celebrations of our nation’s independence. Last weekend, I had the privilege to offer the invocation at south Filipino-American community of South Florida’s celebration that marked the 102nd anniversary of the independence of the Philippines from Spain. I couldn’t help but reflect on the many struggles of both of these nations in order to achieve real freedom from the oppressive tyranny which spawned that struggle in the first place, and how the founding fathers (and mothers) of these Christian-influenced nations prayed devoutly to God in establishing their nations under Him.

I also wonder if our own national holiday of “The Fourth of July” has lost its real significance when it’s one that’s only celebrated with cookouts and fireworks, parades and picnics, while we overlook the important fact that we are supposed to be “one nation under God.” Do we really appreciate and thank God for our “freedoms” when we learn that two-thirds of the world’s nations (China, Cuba and Afghanistan come to mind) still lack such liberties? And these freedoms, won and strengthened throughout the years at the cost of the many lives sacrificed for their preservation and exaltation, are not the kinds of freedom that permit us to do anything we want (those are called ‘license’), but which permit us to build up our “one nation under God,” ready to help others in a similar struggle. The challenges that face our nation today come both from without and within. Without God, I don’t see how we could realistically continue to resist the presence of dangers that threaten the continued existence of our nation. We have been blessed with abundant gifts to build up this nation and to enhance its endurance against those foes who seek its destruction. Outside forces are always a threat to those who seek democratic reforms and find themselves thwarted in their efforts by corrupt politicians and military leaders.

But, much like those pesky termites that often undermine the foundations of our homes, there also are subtle forces that exist even within our nation that try to tear away at the fabric that made this country great. That’s why the signers of our Declaration of Independence, diverse as they were in their religious practices, saw the necessary good that comes from being united as “one nation under
God.”

Amazingly, our freedoms even guarantee that those opposed to our way of life have a forum to express their beliefs that is protected by our freedom of speech. This is another freedom, like that of religion, which can be threatened by sinister forces who are fanatically dedicated to the overthrow of conventional wisdom and democratic governments. The right to speak is so fundamental that the FIRST Amendment of the Bill of Rights includes this promise: “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.” But today’s pro-abortion Congressional leaders read the First Amendment differently. They would have it read: Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech, unless it’s speech about incumbent Congressmen like us. Then we’ll restrict it.

Take the new “DISCLOSE ACT.” The U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down a law that severely restricted groups like National Right to Life from even mentioning the name of a Congressman or bringing his voting record to the public’s attention during the period leading up to his re-election campaign. Congressmen don’t like groups like National Right to Life talking about their records. It’s inconvenient. But, the Supreme Court said, in effect, “too bad. Citizens (and citizen groups) have that right.” They struck down the law as unconstitutional.

However, undaunted by the Supreme Court’s recognition of our free speech rights, now Congress is trying to limit our speech with another approach: punish groups who speak out about them by forcing the groups to provide confidential donor lists and other sensitive information to the government. They call this set of punishments the “DISCLOSE ACT.” Yet not all organizations would be punished. Certain allies of the pro-abortion leaders in Congress, like the mainstream media, are exempt. They can continue to comment about members of Congress without fear of punishment. And the bill is skewed to give advantages to other allies, such as unions. But if you’re any one of a number of other Americans which speaks for the unborn, forget it; the 1st Amendment no longer applies to you. That’s why we have to be particularly astute in guarding our freedoms; and this we cannot do alone. Our prayer to God, if done sincerely, will not go unheeded. He will continue to guide us, if we want Him to do so.

Sadly, too few Catholics seem to understand that the command to ‘Keep Holy the Sabbath’ means that we have the opportunity each week to practice our faith in the spirit of that freedom of religion, and make that prayer an effective means of expressing our gratitude for the gifts that He has so generously bestowed upon us. The disregard by some “believers” of the command of God to give Him the worship and praise that is due Him each week weakens our relationship with Him, and causes us to puff ourselves up with pride in our own accomplishments, as if all these were really possible without help from our God. They have argued their way out of what should be a loving and dedicated worship of God, and skipped out of their primary duty as children of the Almighty One.

Fortunately, this year we observe our Independence Day on a Sunday, the regularly designated day of worship for all Christians, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. If you find that you are not worshipping God each Saturday evening or Sunday, get yourself back to God by making a good Confession before trying to receive what would otherwise be an unworthy Communion. Skipping out on God for some lesser reason means that we are not loving our God “above all things,” as we should. Laziness, indifference, and several other banal excuses for failing to exercise our DUTY to worship our God puts us at odds with Him, because it says that He is not the most important thing or being in our life. That is a fallacious assumption and places us on a very dangerous precipice in this life, as it jeopardizes our entry into the next life.

Hopefully, we’ll take the special opportunity presented by our presence at Mass to thank God for His wondrous gifts, including our
country, our freedoms, our life, health and faith, our family, and the opportunities to use these gifts wisely and prudently for the glory
of God and of His people.]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-06-25T10:59:59-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f55ae351abe01eb9464ad4eb7ae0be8f-72.html#unique-entry-id-72http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f55ae351abe01eb9464ad4eb7ae0be8f-72.html#unique-entry-id-72
After returning from my recent sojourn to Rome at the close of the “Year For Priests,” I found some interesting developments in our country regarding serious discrepancies between the teaching authority of the Church (that rests with the Pope and Bishops [Magisterium]) and the resistance by some members of our Church, including some rather influential members, to that teaching authority. I bring this to your attention because of the ever-present danger of eroding the teachings of our Church in matters that seriously affect the life of our faith and our country.

It seems that a real “battle royal” had been brewing steadily between the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Catholic Health Association over the recently passed health care reform of President Obama. Sister Carol Keehan, CEO and President of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) openly acted in favor of President Obama’s health care reform and in opposition to persistent requests from the bishops, said Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), during their recent spring meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida. During the bishops' executive session held last Tuesday morning to address the fallout of CHA’s support for the health care legislation despite the bishop's opposition, Cardinal George recounted the events that took place prior to President Obama's signing of the health care reform.

The cardinal then concluded his remarks by criticizing CHA and Sr. Keehan, saying they have created a dangerous precedent of a parallel magisterium (teaching body) to the teaching authority of the bishops. In the events leading up to the final health care vote, the USCCB president, Cardinal George of Chicago, presented arguments on how the Bishops' Conference “remained consistent to the two guiding principles throughout the whole process: number one, everyone should have access to health care; number two, no one should be killed.” The consistent moral position of the bishops, Cardinal George explained, centered around the protection of life, conscience protections, and the inclusion of immigrants. “The Conference never backed down on these issues,” he forcefully stated. According to the Archbishop of Chicago, when the Stupak Amendment was defeated in the Senate in December 2009, “everything went south.” That is when “the Catholic Health Association and other so-called Catholic groups provided cover for those on the fence to support Obama and the administration.” Cardinal George clearly remarked that “Sr. Carol and her colleagues are to blame” for the passage of the health care bill. He continued by revealing that the bishops repeatedly tried to reach out to Sr. Keehan, both before and after the vote. “I personally met with her in March, to no avail,” the cardinal reported.

In April, three bishops of the USCCB ‘ad hoc’ Health Care Concerns Committee, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth and Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, also met with Sr. Keehan to try to make her understand the bishops’ concerns, and thus bring CHA back in line with Church teachings; however the meeting concluded with “the same frustrating results.”

The president of the USCCB reiterated the bishop's fundamental opposition to the health care reform. “The bill which was passed is fundamentally flawed. The Executive Order is meaningless. Sr. Carol is mistaken in thinking that this is pro-life legislation,” Cardinal George emphatically said. The cardinal also expressed disappointment with CHA “and other so-called Catholic groups” because, “in the end, they have weakened the moral voice of the bishops in the U.S.”

In that regard, Cardinal George highlighted that the USCCB and CHA’s positions on Obama’s health care are not just “two equally valid conclusions inspired in the same Catholic teaching,” and reiterated that what the bishops said on May 21 in their statement “Setting the record Straight” is and will remain the official position of the USCCB on the contentious issue.

The document, presented by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo (Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities), Bishop William Murphy (of Rockville Centre, New York, and ) and Bishop John Wester (of Salt Lake City, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Immigration), says: "As Bishops, we disagree that the divergence between the Catholic Conference and Catholic organizations, including the Catholic Health Association, represents merely a difference of analysis or strategy (Catholic Health World, April 15, 2010, “Now That Reform Has Passed”). Rather, for whatever good will was intended, it represented a fundamental disagreement, not just with our staff, as some maintain, but with the Bishops themselves. “As such, it has resulted in confusion and a wound to Catholic unity."

We need to be observant about these and future developments that affect the life and health of the People of God, especially as it pertains to those who are united under the mantle of the Catholic Church’s leadership throughout the world. The danger persists that when the media and society at large construct a scenario against the Church, because of the moral weaknesses of some of its leaders and members, it will use such a setting to try to gain a greater foothold on the means to further damage the Christ-founded institution and dismember it, piece by piece. That’s why we must continually be on guard against the wiles of the Evil One, and to pray for the protection of our Catholic Church, its true leaders, and the Faith of our Fathers.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-06-17T16:13:26-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/16fdd16ba0a4a14df9468a211f99f5b3-71.html#unique-entry-id-71http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/16fdd16ba0a4a14df9468a211f99f5b3-71.html#unique-entry-id-71Happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, soon-to-be fathers, would-be fathers (except for taking on a special role in family life that precludes the normal course of events) and our Priests! While I was in Rome, wonderful things happened in the parish, especially the Vacation Bible Camp 2010, with its theme, “Spirit of the Seas.” I ask you to prayerfully thank those special women who made this possible: Julie D’Addio, Kim Weber, Carrie Socha, Marjorie Robinson, Cathy Fradkin, Noreen Kelly, Chrissy Hubiak, Amy Sexton and Sister Dorothy. God bless them!

Yes, it was a privilege to be in Rome again, this time for the closing of the “Year for Priests.” I think the highlight of my week was the celebration of Mass with Pope Benedict on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The Eucharist was concelebrated by cardinals and bishops as well as by more than 15,000 priests from all over the world. The Holy Father consecrated the wine in the same chalice as that used by St. John Mary Vianney, the “Cure of Ars” in France. In his homily the Pope noted how the ‘Year for Priests’ was celebrated to ensure "a renewed appreciation of the grandeur and beauty of the priestly ministry.” The priest is not a mere ‘office-holder.’ Rather, he does something which no human being can do of his own power: in Christ's name, he speaks the words which absolve us of our sins,
and in this way he changes, starting with God, our entire life. Over the bread and wine, he speaks Christ's words of thanksgiving, which open the world to God and unite us to Him. Priesthood, then, is not simply 'office,' but Sacrament.

“This boldness of God who entrusts Himself to human beings (conscious of our weaknesses, He nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in His stead) is the true grandeur concealed in the word 'priesthood'.” This is what Pope Benedict wanted us to reflect upon and appreciate again over the course of the past year. He wanted to reawaken our joy at how close God is to us. He also wanted to demonstrate once again to young people that this vocation, this fellowship of service for God and with God, does exist. Yet, it is to be expected that this new uplifting of the Priesthood would not be pleasing to the 'enemy' (Satan), who would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world. And so it happened that, in this very year of joy for the Sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light - particularly the abuse of children. The Pope insistently begged forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again; and that in admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation, he will do everything he can to see that the authenticity of each vocation will be ensured as each man continues along his journey.

Had the Year for Priests been a glorification of our individual human performance, it would have been ruined by these events. But for us what happened was precisely the opposite: we grew in gratitude for God's gift, a gift concealed in 'earthen vessels' which ever anew, even amid human weakness, makes God’s love concretely present in this world. “So let us look upon all that happened as a summons to purification, as a task which we bring to the future and which makes us acknowledge and love all the more the great gift we have received from God. In this way, His gift becomes a commitment to respond to God's courage and humility by our own courage and our own humility".

Finally, the Pope commented on the lance thrust in Jesus' side, which caused blood and water to come out. This, the Pope explained, recalls "the two fundamental Sacraments by which the Church lives: Baptism and the Eucharist. From the Lord's pierced side, from His open heart, there springs the living fountain which continues to well up over the centuries and which makes the Church. The open heart is the source of a new stream of life. "Every Christian and every priest should become, starting from Christ, a wellspring which gives life to others. We ought to be offering life-giving water to a parched and thirsty world.” The Holy Father concluded, "Lord, we thank you because for our sake you opened your heart; because in your death and in your resurrection you became the source of life.

Give us life, make us live from you as our source, and grant that we too may be sources, wellsprings capable of bestowing the water of life in our time. We thank you for the grace of the priestly ministry. Lord bless us, and bless all those who in our time are thirsty and continue to seek".

This Sunday, as we celebrate Father’s Day and honor all fathers, let us remember to pray for all of our fathers, including our own spiritual fathers: our priests. As we celebrate with the newest “Father” Christopher LeBlanc, and the ‘older’ priests of our parish, and as we conclude this Year for Priests, may we recall that the essence of all fatherhood comes from God, the Father of all creation, the source of all life. May all who are called to “fatherhood” in this life be one day united with our Father in heaven! May Father LeBlanc be filled with an abundance of grace and peace and love for his ministry.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-06-14T14:15:08-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1cea2347040f71fbf038ce71ead354f3-70.html#unique-entry-id-70http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1cea2347040f71fbf038ce71ead354f3-70.html#unique-entry-id-70At the time of publication, Monsignor Tom was fortunate to be in Rome attending the closing of the “Year For Priests”. In lieu of Monsignor’s article, here is a beautiful poem titled “The Beautiful Hands Of A Priest”.

The Beautiful Hands Of A Priest

We need them in life’s early morning, we need them again at its close; We feel their warm clasp of true friendship, we seek them when tasting life’s woes. At the altar each day we behold them, and the hands of a king on his throne are not equal to them in their greatness; their dignity stands all alone; And when we are tempted and wander to pathways of shame and of sin, “Tis the hand of a priest will absolve us – not once, but again and again. And when we are taking life’s partner, other hands may prepare us a feast, But the hand that will bless and unite us is the beautiful hand of a priest. God bless them and keep them all holy for the Host which their fingers caress; What can a poor sinner do better than to ask Him to guide thee and bless? When the hour of death comes upon us may our courage and strength be increased By seeing raised o’er us in blessing the beautiful hands of a priest!]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-06-04T18:03:39-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/831fb3b49fce7a8b8f2e699fcb02cbc1-69.html#unique-entry-id-69http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/831fb3b49fce7a8b8f2e699fcb02cbc1-69.html#unique-entry-id-69Grateful to the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, I am in Rome, this week, with the head chaplains of each of the 50 states and several countries that have Knights of Columbus. There we will join Pope Benedict in closing ceremonies of the “Year For Priests.” I hope you find this column helpful.

More than several parishioners have asked me over the past few years exactly what is a Canon, as in Canon Tom. To try to help clarify this for them, I offer the following, much of it taken from an article I found in Wikipedia. My classification of Canon is found under the section titled “Honorary Canons.” **

Pasted Graphic
Canons in Bruges, Belgium.
Pasted Graphic 1
A canon of Sint Niklaas, Flanders.


A Canon (from the Latin canonicus, itself derived from the Greek κανονικος "relating to a rule") is an honored priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule (canon). Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or in one of the houses within the precinct or area near a cathedral, and ordering his life according to the orders or rules of the church. This way of life began to become common in the 8th century. In the 11th century, some churches required clergy living together to adopt the rule first proposed by Saint Augustine that they renounce private wealth. Those who embraced this change were known as Augustinian or regular canons, while those who did not were known as secular canons.

In the Catholic Church, specially designated clergy members of the cathedral chapter or a collegiate church are called Canons. A cathedral chapter is a special group of clergy composed to assist the bishop in the governance of his diocese. A collegiate church is a church where the community of clergy, organized as a self-governing corporate body, may be presided over by a dean. Although a collegiate church is not the seat of a bishop, and has no diocesan responsibilities, in its governance and some religious observances a collegiate church is similar to a cathedral.

Honorary canons **
The title of Canon is still given in many dioceses to senior parish priests as a largely honorary title. It is usually awarded in recognition of long and dedicated service to the diocese. Honorary canons are members of the chapter in name, but are nonresidential and receive no remuneration. They are entitled to call themselves “Canon,” and often have a role in the administration of the cathedral and the diocese (generally speaking, Canons in the Anglican or the Episcopal Church are of this sort).

They also are equivalent to a monsignor in the Catholic Church, often wearing the violet or violet-trimmed cassock which is associated with that rank. Since the reign of King Henry IV, the heads of state of France have been granted by the pope the title of sole honorary canon of Saint John Lateran.

Lay canons
In addition to canons who are clerics in holy orders, cathedrals in the Anglican Communion may also appoint lay persons as canons. The rank of "lay canon" is especially conferred upon English diocesan chancellors (the senior legal officer of the diocese, who is usually, though not exclusively, a lay person).

Secular canons
All canons of the Church of England have been secular since the Reformation, although an individual canon may himself also be a member of a religious order. Mostly, however, they are ordained, that is, priests or members of the clergy. Today, the system of canons is retained almost exclusively in connection with cathedral churches. The dean and chapter are the formal body which has legal responsibility for the cathedral and for electing the (arch)bishop.
Very Rev. Canon Tom

]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-05-31T20:41:52-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/126e3fe74a39bb20c9236280edd09bb5-68.html#unique-entry-id-68http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/126e3fe74a39bb20c9236280edd09bb5-68.html#unique-entry-id-68Today, we celebrate the sacred mystery of the Holy Trinity. As we ponder the union of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we start to realize, little by little, that God is always reaching out to us, never ceasing to try to draw us into a relationship with Him, by creating us, redeeming us, and making us holy. The goodness of God’s love, a selfless love, fills us with wonder.

God tries to touch our hearts so that we will respond to His merciful love and pass it on to others. That is our main mission in life in conjunction with praising God for all that He does for us. As we continue our journey toward a fuller conversion of our heart and mind, we can be assured of God’s loving support. After all, it is our common belief that God wishes the salvation of every human being. That’s why Jesus, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was sent to our world—to save us. That’s why God sends the Holy Spirit upon us, to encourage us in our faith mission.

This weekend, we graduate 31 eighth-graders to their new place in high schools across our area. Many of them will continue their Catholic education in Catholic school settings. Next year, they will also continue their spiritual preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation. None of this will assure them or us of their advancement in their faith mission. Much like the seed in Sacred Scripture, some will fall on good soil and develop and produce good (spiritual) fruit; others, sad to say, will not.

What our school and its staff have given them is a solid foundation to advance in this life and prepare for the next. Though we are a major support system for their parents, it is the parents who have the ultimate responsibility of raising them in the practice of the Faith by giving good example. If the parents and family are well-rooted in its Catholic faith, then good fruit should follow. But, if parental responsibility should fall short in its obligations, then the results, unfortunately, will be similarly predictable.

That’s why we try to encourage our children AND their parents to participate in Mass each weekend, so that they may grow together in their belief in God and the Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. So, I ask you to pray for these young graduates and their parents, that the light of Faith that was given to each one in Baptism, will not be snuffed out, and that each of these youngsters will not fall victim to the seductions of this world or its wily prince (Satan). The more often they receive the Eucharist worthily, the more likely they will grow in their knowledge and love of God and His
teachings in Scripture and through the Church. If they omit Mass through their own fault, they’ve already been alerted to the need of reconciliation with God before a worthy Eucharist.

The school has started the process by planting the seed; let’s pray that the parents and the rest of our parish family
will work to nurture the plant! Now that the summer has begun for many of the youngsters with the usual closing of school, there will be summertime opportunities to continue the learning in more delightful and less formal settings. In our parish, we will again host the popular Vacation Bible School program, begun a few short years ago for the youngest of our children. Beginning June 7th to 11th on our grounds, for three hours each morning, several wonderful volunteer parents, assisted by some of our teens, will lead the children a little closer to the Lord by teaching them about His love for His Church, the People of God.

And for the rest of us, may we not forget that we are God’s children and, as children, we owe our God the proper love, respect and gratitude due Him. Our primary duty is to give Him praise and worship each Sunday, whether “in season or out of season,” and to show our love for all His creation, including the earth, and all living things upon it, especially His children. May we never lose our sense of rendering to God the things that are God’s, especially by keeping His day holy.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-05-20T16:56:05-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e67ed2474a394c85f75083d5fa34e799-67.html#unique-entry-id-67http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e67ed2474a394c85f75083d5fa34e799-67.html#unique-entry-id-67This weekend, as we celebrate Pentecost, the fiftieth day of Easter, we come to the conclusion of the fifty-day celebration of Easter. Throughout the history of salvation, God’s Spirit continues to breathe upon all creation, bringing life and renewal. We rejoice in the continued presence of the Holy Spirit among us, bringing us abundant new life, first, through Baptism, and renewed again, through the Sacrament of Confirmation. The first Pentecost was the renewal of the covenant God made with man on Mt. Sinai, when the Spirit of the Lord descended upon the Apostles, with sevenfold gifts of wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence and wonder.

With joy, we renew the covenant made in the waters of Baptism, and ask the Lord to grant us a renewal of His gifts each day of our life, for we live in a funny world that daily challenges our spirit, our moral fiber, and our way of thinking. We need that constant help!

What a tremendous day we had last Saturday at the annual parish golf-outing at Quail Ridge Country Club! The weather was perfect, and the tourney was a success, thanks to the untiring efforts of Mimi Meister, her husband, Dan, and the committee and numerous volunteers who dedicated themselves to making this our best outing yet, for the benefit of the children of our St. Vincent Ferrer School. We had a lot of fun, with many laughs, and managed to enjoy ourselves throughout the afternoon and evening. May God bless Charlie Bowie and the leadership of the club that offered us such a wonderful venue.We thank all of these people for their fine efforts, and may all of us who participated relish the thought that next year’s event will be even greater!

Next weekend, we will take up that special 2nd collection for the missionary work of the same religious order of Sisters that now staffs our school, viz., the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. In your appreciation for having a community of devoted religious sisters that staff our parish school, and are ever present in our parish to minister to the sick and homebound, a generous response in the envelopes that have been provided will help that same community to reach out to many people in the third world. There they are engaged in bringing Christ to those who otherwise wouldn’t know Him, and of ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of these people at the same time. Our Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy and their superiors are most grateful for your support of their community’s efforts, and will ask the many Sisters of their Order to pray for you along with their other benefactors.

At this time, I would like to thank Mr. Lou Finelli of our school faculty for the many years of service he has given to our school and parish, too. He is retiring this year after fifteen years here of teaching math, computer science and doing the upgrades of our technology programs: data processing information, website structuring, etc., in the school. We will miss his daily presence here, but hope to see him on his visits in the future.

We will also bid fond farewells to two other staff members whom we will miss: Mrs. Molly Karpenko and Mrs. Patricia Sperry. May God bless them in their new setting, and know that our prayers will follow them. Next weekend we will celebrate our 8th grade graduates from St. Vincent School with a special Mass and blessing of the graduates during the regular Saturday 5:30 P.M. Parish Mass. With gratitude for the many sacrifices made by parents to provide a quality Catholic education at our school, and thanks to the efforts of a wonderful teaching staff and leadership in our school, we will send forth thirty-one young men and women to a new level of preparing to deal with life’s situations.

Hopefully, they will remember the most important values of what they have learned in these past eight to ten years in Catholic education and continue to worship the Lord each week, thanking Him for the abundance of gifts poured out upon His people. I thank our good Principal, Mrs. Delgado, her staff and all the teachers and parents who have brought our students to this point in their lives. May our graduates never forget they are God’s children, and may they always remember to give Him the worship and honor due Him each week at Mass.

Congratulations to our Mrs. Delgado for getting our school to be accepted into a special scholarship program. St. Vincent Ferrer is a participating school in the Florida Tax Scholarship plan called “Step Up For Students.” What is the Step Up For Students Program? Well, students who are entering kindergarten or first grade, or who attended public school the previous year are eligible, providing they match the criteria. The scholarships cover up to $3,950 for private school tuition and books. This should help a number of our students and their families to cut tuition costs. For more information regarding scholarship qualification, please go to www.stepupforstudents.org.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-05-14T18:44:22-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eb7d1db45927ccabd50f9b62e1e1690d-66.html#unique-entry-id-66http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eb7d1db45927ccabd50f9b62e1e1690d-66.html#unique-entry-id-66Throughout the fifty days of Easter, we have rejoiced in the resurrection of Christ. Today we listen to the story of His glorious Ascension into heaven, where He intercedes for us to His Father. Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus instructed His disciples to return to Jerusalem, and there they should fast and pray while they await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. We are reminded that as members of the Body of Christ, we have become His hands and feet to work in this world. In various dioceses and countries, some observed Ascension last Thursday, but the bishops in most of the United States (except the northeast and Nebraska) use their prerogative to transfer the celebration to Sunday. In this way, the serious obligation of attending
Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation now has been combined with a Sunday, when many more people are able to get to church for the celebration.

On Saturday, May 29th, at the 5:30 p.m. Mass, our 8th grade will mark their graduation from our parish school. We certainly will miss this spirited group when they leave our school, and I invite you to pray for them, that they may stay close to Jesus when they are in high school and fulfill their role of worshipping Him each weekend, not only when they feel like coming. I invite all of our graduates to attend that Mass, too, as we pray for them and their future, so that they may realize that it is God who brought them to this point in their lives, and it is God who will sustain them when others will have abandoned them.

On the same weekend of May 29-30, our parish will take up a special 2nd collection for the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, of whom we have our Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy from our school. They will be speaking at most of our Masses that weekend about their community, and this will be our chance to help sustain their Order. Special envelopes have been printed for you to fill out and drop in the collection basket for that occasion. So, I hope you will be generous to their call for help, for, as in some of the poorer areas of the world, their work cannot be sustained except through the generous response given by people in first-world countries, especially in the parishes in which they work, such as ours. Among their many missions throughout the world, some of these Sisters work in Poland, Rome and the U.S., and have additional places to maintain, such as those situated in Africa, the Philippines, Ukraine and Belarus. There they run schools, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, orphanages, and catechetical centers. They are noted for their faithful witness to Christ and His people, their wearing of the traditional full-length garment of religious women, their love and devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and their prayerful witness through their good example.

May they also draw young women to their style of community life, ready to give up the worldly things this life offers to take on the challenges we all must overcome to enter into God’s Kingdom. Congratulations to the new officers for our parish Home and School Association: President, Tom & Elizabeth Brinkman; Vice President Noreen Kelly; Treasurer Chris & Susan Grant; Recording Secretary John & Begona Krane; Financial Secretary Bill & Greta Gillis; and Parliamentarian Jason & Vicki Chung.

They are very active and participating parishioners, not only in our school programs, but also in the total life of our parish. I welcome them into their new roles for the next 2 years, and pray that their good efforts will be met with the assistance of many other parents, who also will volunteer to assist them for the good of our school and parish.

In the first part of June, I will be returning to Rome for the closing of the Year of the Priest. It was my good fortune last June to be there for its opening. With gratitude to the 47,000 Knights of Columbus in the state of Florida for being chosen as their representative chaplain, I will join the state chaplains of each of our 50 states and several national chaplains of the countries in which our Knights are present, to meet with our
Holy Father and partake of the closing events.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-05-08T09:29:37-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/530251e20659941a85118686de60820f-65.html#unique-entry-id-65http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/530251e20659941a85118686de60820f-65.html#unique-entry-id-65During this month of May, set aside in the Catholic Church to honor Mary, Mother of God and of the
Church, we take time on this second Sunday of the month to honor our earthly mothers, too, as we celebrate their love on Mother's Day.

Many flowers, spiritual bouquets, beautiful gifts, special meals and additional signs of affection will be shown to our Moms, whether living or not, to tell them how much we love them and how much we appreciate all that they mean to us and have done for us to nurture our life and faith. How wonderful, too, if we were to take some time to extend that gratitude to our spiritual Mother, Mary, and pray her rosary during this month as a sign of our love and affection for her.

Even if we set aside one decade of the Rosary each day and meditate upon the mysteries contained therein, we express our deepest sentiments in appreciation for all that she has done for us, including saying “Yes” to the Father for bringing forth the life of His Son, our Savior, on earth. Our school children will honor the Blessed Virgin this coming week (May 11th) with a traditional, annual crowning of the statue of the Blessed Virgin in church at the 8:30 A.M. Mass. I welcome you to join us on this occasion.

We're delighted that our little children of the second grade of our school and our Parish Religious Education Program (PREP) have just received their First Holy Communion this past Saturday. My hope and prayer is that it will not just be a single passing occasion in their lives, but that it will be repeated at least weekly at Sunday Mass, when their joy will be renewed at receiving Jesus regularly into their hearts, and that the love He has for them may be returned as often as humanly possible to Him by their worthy reception of Holy Communion.

May they always stay close to Jesus, and may they grow in wisdom and grace that comes from the worthy reception of this Sacrament. Sadly, we know that there are many people who approach this Sacrament casually, and, unfortunately, some of them in a most unworthy state, without the proper disposition necessary to receive His grace. May our little ones never be given the bad example of unworthy reception of the Holy Eucharist. If they have somehow neglected the Lord in their obligatory weekly worship in a Catholic church, or have offended God in a serious other way, may they learn to be first reconciled with Him through a good Confession in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, and then benefit from His graces through a worthy reception of Holy Communion. In that way may their reception of the Eucharist benefit their lives and keep them close to the Lord.

Next Saturday, May 15th, we will have our annual Parish Golf Tourney, and this one is set to be one of the
largest and best ever because of the hard work done by the preparatory team of Mimi Meister and her friends (mentioned previously in the bulletin). Sponsorships, underwriting and the signing up of many foursome teams have given us an indication that we're in for a very special day. Let's pray that the weather will be great and that we'll have a glorious and fun-filled time on the course. More information appears elsewhere in this bulletin.

Graduations of our parishioners from different levels of schooling is already taking place, and we congratulate all of them on their accomplishments, from pre-K through graduate school in several universities! May God's blessings be poured on them in abundance, and may all those who have led them to this graduation be rewarded with a sense of their own accomplishment.

As we draw closer to the end of this Year For Priests, and witness the ceaseless and continuous groundless
attacks on our Church and the Priesthood, we recall the words of Pope Benedict XVI, in his letter that proclaimed this year in our honor: “ I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labors, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity?” Pray for your priests, and pray for more priests to be sent to labor in the field of harvest.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-05-04T16:05:19-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/0fcc3ad69d157d75f50f68fa94c09f1c-64.html#unique-entry-id-64http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/0fcc3ad69d157d75f50f68fa94c09f1c-64.html#unique-entry-id-64Irish journalist, David Quinn, recently came out with an article on why he views the current and ongoing attacks on Pope Benedict as attacks on the Catholic Church itself. Acknowledging his better journalistic abilities, I present some of his thoughts, edited and co-mingled with mine.

Although Pope Benedict XVI was elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II just five years ago, he already has become a controversial figure. He has gone on to become the “hate figure” in certain media and other circles -- a sort of replacement “target man” for George W Bush. Those circles include aggressive secularists, angry ex- Catholics, and even some within the Catholic fold itself, who live in denial, and still suffer from the delusion that the purpose of the 2ndVatican Council was to turn the Catholic Church into another form of failed liberal Protestantism.

Pope Benedict is obviously in the news more than ever now because of the scandals and the ongoing and ratherunfair attempts to implicate him in the mismanagement of those scandals. But, even without the scandals, Benedict XVI was and is a ‘hate figure’ for some. He’s been attacked often without any proper justification. For example, in December 2008, he was widely condemned for allegedly comparing homosexuality with the destruction of the rainforests - except that he did no such thing. In that given speech, he never even mentioned homosexuality.

A few weeks later, on his way to Africa, he defended the Church's opposition to condom promotion in fighting the spread of HIV/Aids. He was excoriated for this and blamed for helping to cause the deaths of millions. But none of his critics paid any attention to the actual scientific evidence, which shows that no condom promotion campaign aimed at general populations has ever succeeded in reducing the spread of HIV/Aids. What does work, according to the evidence, are fidelity campaigns!

The attacks on Pope Benedict are, actually, a more subtle attack on the Catholic Church, and they come from many directions. The Church is attacked over its supposed attitude towards Jews, Protestants, Muslims and thevother religions, generally; and Pope Benedict and the Church are attacked for their attitude towards homosexuality and human sexuality. They are attacked over their defense of the right to life of the unborn, the elderly and the sick.

They are attacked over their defense of marriage. But in a way, all these attacks are an attack on the same thing, namely the Pope’s and the Church's defense of objective truth and morality --the belief that certain things are right or wrong in and of themselves, regardless of opinion or circumstance. In an age of moral relativism, nothing is more offensive than the person who says, however calmly, that morality is simply a matter of opinion, that religions are all equally true or equally false, and that all lifestyle choices are
equal.

With regard to sex, for example, the Church says that sex has an objective meaning and purpose, and that one such purpose is procreation, intrinsically linked to heterosexuality. This is connected to the defense of marriage. One reason the Church says men and women should marry before they have sex is because it believes children have a right to be raised by their two married parents. But many people, especially cohabiting couples, single parents and homosexuals, find this offensive, and it leads them into a denial that children have any need for, or right to, a married mother and father. But, the Church cannot go down that road! Nor can the Church say all religions are equal, because then it would have to deny that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Yet, it doesn't mean the Church
wouldn’t treat other religions with due respect. So, why is all this so difficult to grasp?

Presumably we're all able to treat most of the people with whom we disagree with respect. And the Church does the same thing, contrary to popular prejudicial opinion. The paradoxical problem of relativism is that it claims to treat all points of view equally but, in fact, it condemns those who deny relativism. In other words, relativists defend their point of view as trenchantly and aggressively as the worst fundamentalists and will allow no opposition.

The Pope calls this ultra-aggressiveness the 'dictatorship of relativism.' And the main reason these liberal fundamentalists spend so much of their time and energy attacking the Pope and the Church is because these are the foremost defenders of objective truth and morality in the world today. Destroy Benedict, damage or co-opt the Church he leads, and you go a long way towards destroying opposition to liberal fundamentalism. This is a cataclysmic battle between those who believe in objective morality and those who think morality is relative. Pope Benedict is smack in the middle of the hottest part of this battle! In this Year for Priests, please remember to pray for our Chief Priest, Pope Benedict XVI. As leader of Christ’s Church on earth, he is in great need of our prayerful help.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-04-22T17:06:23-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b46659a622da179f9be91e309fbb674c-63.html#unique-entry-id-63http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/b46659a622da179f9be91e309fbb674c-63.html#unique-entry-id-63It is with a real sense of sadness that we extend our sympathy to our Bishop Barbarito on the death of his mother, Anna Marie, who died on Saturday, April 17th, and was buried this past week in Brooklyn. She had bravely fought cancer these last few years of her life, and now, God has called her home to be with Him after a very beautiful life that included daily Mass and Holy Communion. May she enjoy happiness with the Lord and her husband forever, and may our Bishop and his sister and her family be consoled that God really loves His faithful followers!

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, a.k.a., The World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is set aside for us to pray in a special way for more vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. In this Year for Priests, we pray even more intensely that God will raise up from among us more good and faithful people to answer his call to serve as one of His Priests. Once they are called, we pray that they may be guided throughout their life of service and not succumb to the power of the Evil One. We also join in asking God to extend the call to for more to become Religious Brothers and Sisters and Permanent Deacons.

Perhaps an invitation from you to your children or other members of your family who are open to God’s call to serve Him and His people in one of these capacities will cause them to think and open their hearts to the possibilities of sharing God’s love with a world in need of that love. If you qualify and are considering the possibilities that God is calling you to try out the seminary or convent to discern whether to are being called to serve Him in religious life, remember the words of a famous manufacturer: “Just do it!” Remember, the seminary or convent is a place of discernment; you will not be ordained or professed in solemn vows for many years. There, you are just given ample opportunity over several years to explore the possibility of a call to priesthood or religious life.

Speaking of shepherds, we extend congratulations to Archbishop-elect Thomas Wenski, a priest-son of Palm Beach County, who has just been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Archdiocese of Miami, which is the largest diocese south of Philadelphia and east of Huston. I just had dinner with him at his Orlando home ten days ago, and you would have thought he was the proverbial “cat that swallowed the canary.” The Archbishop served most of his priesthood in the Miami area before he was named six years ago to head the rapidly expanding diocese of Orlando. The 59-year old son of a Polish-immigrant father and Polish-American mother, he is well suited to lead the Miami-area Catholics, as he speaks fluent Haitian Creole, Spanish, English and a decent amount of Polish.

The enormous task that lies ahead of him will require a lot of energy and even more prayer, so please include this native son of our area in your prayers so that he will be a good shepherd. And, please don’t take any negative publicity in the media at face-value; they love to stir up controversy even where it doesn’t really exist. Yes, the devil has his minions at work, even when they may not realize he is using them.

Next Sunday, May 2nd, the Diocese of Palm Beach will celebrate our annual Marian Rosary Festival, beginning
at 2:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Parish. Once again, our own Bishop Barbarito has accepted the invitation to celebrate the devotions honoring Mary, the Mother of Our God. Events will include the procession of various Marian images, the recitation of the Rosary, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Knights of Columbus, parish chapters of the CCW, and Rosary groups from throughout our diocese are welcome to join in this celebration, followed by a multi-cultural fiesta of food and entertainment provided by different ethnic groups participating in the festival. You and your family are invited to honor Mary, too, with your prayer, and mark the beginning of Mary’s month of May.

On Saturday, May 8th, our little children, who have been preparing this year for their First Holy Communion, will receive Jesus at their special Mass at 10:30 a.m. I thank the teachers of religion and the parents of these children who have brought them to this point of their lives, most especially by the good example they have given through lives of volunteer service and deepened prayer. May they continue to show their faithfulness by teaching our children receive the Lord often in the Eucharist, attending Mass each and every Sunday as a means of growing
stronger in the spiritual life through this Bread of Angels.

There is a special notice in this week’s bulletin about our opening of a second counseling center on campus (the first is the diocesan-sponsored Catholic Charities Counseling office in the old convent, above the Parish Gift Shop). The new one is called Divine Mercy Healing and Counseling Center. Please check its announcement elsewhere in this bulletin. God bless you!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-04-15T22:04:03-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/50e858388c57fb30c65403b03a5bbe2f-62.html#unique-entry-id-62http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/50e858388c57fb30c65403b03a5bbe2f-62.html#unique-entry-id-62What tragedies have befallen God’s people again, this time in West Virginia and Poland. My classmate, the Bishop of West Virginia, missed our class reunion last week to spend much time ministering to those of his flock who have lost loved ones in the coal mine disaster there (I did get to see his picture on the news more than once during that sad vigil). In Poland, the nation suffered its most devastating setback since World War II. Their leaders were on their way to offer a commemorative Mass marking the 70th anniversary of the wiping out of the leadership and intelligentsia of Poland by the Soviets in Katyn Forest.

My Polish-language professor had been among the leadership of those who persisted in bringing to light the atrocities that were hidden for years by Russia. When he died two years ago, he was given a state funeral from Warsaw’s Cathedral, already having been given the equivalent of Poland’s Medal of Honor and the Polish Parliament’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. For those of us who remember the Kennedy assassinations and were deeply affected by them, just try to imagine the wipe-out of not only the Kennedys, but much of the leadership of our military and Congressional leaders.

It is virtually unparalleled in these times outside of war and genocide. I knew the bishop of the Polish Military Diocese who lost his life (just saw him last summer), as well as the ex-President of the Republic-in-exile, who served his people from London during the years of Soviet and Communist domination of Poland. There were seven other priests also on board that ill-fated aircraft.

Please pray for all those who have perished in these disasters, as well as their families (and for our Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy, who cannot return home at this time to join in their nation’s mourning), and the entire Catholic Polish nation. Now that the flu season is over and the danger of rapid transmission of the “bug” seems to have passed, the reception of the Precious Blood at Sunday Masses in our parish will be resumed, with the usual precautions for both Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and recipients still being observed. The ministers will continue to purify their hands before distributing the host or cup, and carefully wipe the cup after the recipient has partaken of the Precious Blood.

The recipient should not approach the cup if he/she is aware of any cold or other illness that could infect any other recipients. This will be the last Sunday that Deacon Chris LeBlanc will serve as a Deacon in our parish before his going off to prepare for his priestly ordination and First Mass. We are grateful for his weekends of service throughout the past year, and wish him only the best for his last days in the seminary as a student. He has been a good preacher of God’s Word here, and a valuable asset to our parish family, especially to the youth of our Life Teen program. Though we will lose his presence in our area, we know that his Diocese of Pensacola- Tallahassee will utilize his many talents, and hope that he will receive a suitable assignment there and continue to develop his gifts for the use of God’s people in that diocese. Pray for him, that he may be worthy of that call by God to serve Him and His flock in the best ways possible. Pray, too, for the health of his own bishop, the Most Reverend John Ricard, weakened by a series of strokes and physical setbacks in this 70th year of his life.

Father Chris will be ordained in the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Pensacola on Saturday, June 5th, in this “Year for Priests.” Then, on June 20th, “Father” Chris will return to us to offer a Mass of Thanksgiving, followed by a reception in our Parish Center. Until then, we wish him the choicest of God’s blessings and “bon voyage!”

Steve Dudenhoefer, of Ak’Tenamit in our Guatemalan mission, has sent us a lovely message of thanks for your generous contribution to that cause. He will greet us when several men from the Knights of Columbus of our parish and their sons arrive in mid-July (17th to the 25th) for our annual volunteer work week (actually 9 days) in the steamy rain forest of Guatemala. If you wish to donate to this worthy project, green envelopes marked for the Guatemalan mission are found in the clear plastic brochure holders at each of the entrances of our church. You may put your offering along with your weekly parish stewardship envelope in the Sunday collection. Thank you so much for your support of this worthy cause!

We welcome the newest members of our parish, who will join us after the last Mass this Sunday morning, in a meeting and reception in our parish hall. We thank Karen Turnbull and her team of welcoming volunteers who, with the leadership of our parish, are making them feel welcome to our parish family.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-04-08T19:32:03-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f8ba58ef5ba4f133bfe72cccb63c0796-61.html#unique-entry-id-61http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f8ba58ef5ba4f133bfe72cccb63c0796-61.html#unique-entry-id-61Thank you to the many kind people who visited us over the past Easter weekend (the busiest time of year for church services and record attendance) and supported our church through their generous donations and collections.

The church was packed at many of the Masses, and parking seemed tougher than usual. So, I tip my hat to those kind and loyal volunteers who did their best to try to keep the great volume of cars flowing in and out after the most crowded of our Easter Masses, or who offered their services in such a way as to lessen an already difficult
situation. Thank you for being so patient, too, when the bridge went up and the train came through, causing a real delay in arrivals for Mass because the previous crowd couldn’t leave so quickly.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see these crowds coming to Mass each Sunday? But, alas, we know that many are only Easter-time visitors – some for good reasons, too. We appreciate their support of our parish while they are with
us, especially the many seasonal snowbirds who are a tremendous asset to us. We will miss you until you return to us. May God bless all of you who support us while you’re here, especially those who generously support the Diocesan Services Appeal!

Thank you to all those workers and volunteers who helped us prepare for such beautiful and spiritually uplifting Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Our maintenance staff (guided by Jay Flood), our volunteer grounds crew (headed by Chris Grant), the entire Skinner family, Ana Kenefick, and Gene Montfort (decorating the church), seminary students Mark Gobeo and Wesler Hilaire, and several other parishioners stayed very many extra hours in church and on the campus to give that special “extra time and effort.” Our mellifluous-sounding choir (with Bill Stafford & Mark Galsky at the helm) did its part to enhance each of the liturgies. Our teens did a reverent and dignified rendition of the Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening. The many attendees had to be deeply moved by the presentation, as several related later to me.

This weekend unfolds in a relatively new feast in the Church known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks to the intervention of the late Pope John Paul II, we have this celebration of the unlimited love and mercy of Our Lord, shown to us through His divine revelations to Saint Sister Faustina. While each Mass this Sunday is a celebration of Divine Mercy in itself, there will be a special Holy Hour in the afternoon in the church at 3:00 p.m., concluding a nine-day novena. Our weekly visiting transitional Deacon Chris Le Blanc is approaching his priestly ordination (June 5th) in Tallahassee. He’ll still in service with us as a deacon for just this weekend and the next one, too. Then it’s off to the required retreat and time for his immediate preparation for his ordination. “Deacon Chris” will then return to us as “Father Chris,” to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in our parish on June 20th, followed by a reception for all our parishioners in his honor in our Parish Center. I certainly hope you plan to be with us for that memorable
occasion.

On Thursday, April 15th, we will begin our 70th year as a parish!! It’s hard to believe that we have aged that much, but it is so. Checking out our parish website, you can trace the history of the growth of our wonderful parish from its earliest moments as it emerged from Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, and later gave birth to several other neighboring parishes. So much has happened here in the span of these years, and we give thanks to God for the spiritual benefits of this pilgrimage. May He grant us seventy more years plus, and may His love continue
to be poured out upon us through the work of so many generous parishioners and great volunteers!

The feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), our parish patron, is usually observed on April 5th (though this past Monday, we observed Day 2 of the Easter Week celebrations). Vincent, the son of an Englishman who settled in Valencia, Spain, and married his Spanish-born bride there, has been named the patron of plumbers and builders. He entered the Dominican Order at age 17, distinguished himself as a scholar, and became an outstanding preacher and philosopher. He had quite notable success in arousing Christians to repentance in Spain, France and Italy, and he also converted literally thousands to Roman Catholicism. Among his many converts was the Rabbi Paul, who later became bishop of Cartagena, Spain. He did his best to try to arrest what Church historians refer to as “The Great Western Schism” (when there were two, then three claimants to the papal throne at one time), but to little avail. Still, he continued to serve God and His Church very faithfully, influencing so many people in a positive way. Incidentally, Vincent’s very own brother was chosen to head the great monastery of Grand Chartreuse in France, the country in which Vincent died after being worn out by his many successful preaching labors. Shortly after his death, a spontaneous popular cult arose about him, and he was later declared a saint in 1455.

[And you think we have it rough in the Church in this day and age!]
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-03-31T19:21:04-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/cf7cb144213273408f50774ddcaecfac-60.html#unique-entry-id-60http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/cf7cb144213273408f50774ddcaecfac-60.html#unique-entry-id-60Congratulations to the newest members of the Catholic community of our parish, who will have been received into the fullness of our Faith this Holy Saturday evening: Angel DeBlasio, Tabatha Gerber, Lolita Howard, and Michael Spall, being baptized, confirmed and receiving First Holy Communion; Tiffany Guarneiri, receiving First Holy Communion and Confirmation; and Rodrigo Pastrana, receiving Confirmation! May they feel the power of the Holy Spirit and the Son of God come over them and lead them to a deep commitment to live out their Faith!

With gratitude for their recent two-year term of service, I thank the outgoing officers of our parish’s Home and School Association for taking up the responsible mantle of leadership and showing us the wonders of a very successful program during their tenure: our Presidents Irene & Bayard Hey; Vice Presidents Desiree & Richard Alaniz; Financial Secretaries Kim & Paul Weber; Recording Secretaries Vicki & Jayson Chung; Treasurer Laura Alexander; and our Parliamentarians Cindy & Tim Swilley. Their leadership has allowed them to discover new and creative ways of fund-raising and links of communication that help our parish school advance in academic, spiritual, and social achievements. May their examples of volunteerism and service inspire many others to continue the hallowed traditions we cherish! The new officers for the next two-year term of service will be announced shortly.

Thank you most kindly for your generous support of the Guatemalan Mission Collection. The collection netted $22,384, and there are numerous donors who signed up to sponsor the education of a child or two at Ak’Tenamit. If you have not yet donated to this worthy cause, green envelopes are still available at the entrances to our church. The children of Guatemala appreciate you and will be praying for you!

Thank you to the wonderful team of Michelle Gemma and Mimi Meister, who put forth a most successfully fabulous and entertaining Spring Trunk Show featuring a Fashion Show and British Tea last week for the benefit of our school. Team members are: Shannon Boueri, Amy Fairchild, Jill Gallo, Greta Gillis, Louis Glover, Michelle Harrington, Lisa Harshberger, Chrissy Hubiak, Ruthie Lesane, Louise Plunkett, Nancy Porter, Alexandra Raciunas, and Dolly Steinman. May God bless them for their volunteering to serve in this fund-raiser.

Our next big event for the benefit of our parish and school will be the Golf Tournament on May 15th. We hope you’ll come join us for a wonderful opportunity of fun, fund-raising and fellowship. I hope to join in the festivities as I celebrate my 39th priestly anniversary that day.

You have all heard of the recent attacks on Pope Benedict XVI regarding the scandals that have been plaguing the Church during the past decade. The latest is based on an article in The New York Times, once a flagship of higher, class journalism, which has sunk to lower levels because of its mediocre-to-less editorializing, that is now taking the place of factual reporting. There are several glaring inaccuracies and outright errors in its reporting. (Sadly, Maureen Dowd repeats the same innuendos in her syndicated column without checking out the facts). Very fortunately, the Vatican’s official news service and newspaper were able to soundly refute these hastily-made accusations veiled innuendos. Unfortunately, not everyone reads the English version of L’Osservatore Romano. For some more objective presentations on this matter, I urge you to go online to an excellent editorial by U.S. correspondent to the Vatican, John Allen, who’s written a thorough rebuttal to the Times article for the National Catholic Reporter, (which, by the way, is not my favorite “Catholic” paper): “Keeping the Record Straight on Benedict and the Crisis.” Likewise, George Weigel, Biographer of Pope John Paul II and Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the author of “The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church,” in his recent article, “Scoundrel Time(s),” has taken up the same cause as John Allen, and given another strong defense of truth and the Pope. But I don’t know how many people will take time to get away from the distortions of the times to read these two men’s exposes and view the other side of the story. In this “Year For Priests,” please remember to pray for Pope Benedict, too. He is always under attack from the insidiousness of the anti-clerical, anti-Catholic and anti-God forces that “prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”

Next Sunday, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, the highlight of the eight days of the Easter octave. It will be marked by a special Holy Hour of adoration and reflection on the wondrous mysteries of our Lord’s lavish mercy upon those who call upon Him in truth. We will celebrate the Holy Hour and Benediction at 3:00 P.M. in the church. It is an opportunity to learn more of the revelations of Jesus to St. Sister Faustina. Will you take time to join us?

Have a blessed Easter (8 days long in the octave), and remember to receive the Holy Eucharist worthily at least
once during this season (5th Precept of the Church)!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-03-25T17:49:17-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f129c58c94ac0e5dba6628af79d12cde-59.html#unique-entry-id-59http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f129c58c94ac0e5dba6628af79d12cde-59.html#unique-entry-id-59We begin, once again, the most sacred and most important week of the Christian calendar: Holy Week. These
days have precedence over all other celebrations. Palm Sunday (properly called Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion), calls to mind Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem to accomplish the Paschal Mystery. Accordingly, the memorial of this event is included in every Mass. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the Eucharist is distributed only during the Liturgy, though it may be brought to the sick at a different hour. On Holy Saturday, the Eucharist is not to be distributed before the Easter Vigil; it may only be given as Viaticum (literally, “with you on the way”) tothe dying.

Funeral Masses may not be celebrated during these days. The last opportunities before Easter for Confession
will be Monday at 9 AM, Monday night at the 7 PM Penance Service, and Wednesday at 9 AM. Though we
are called to fasting, and abstinence from meat once more on Good Friday, Lent actually ends with the conclusion of Holy Thursday’s evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The following days are called the Easter Triduum, from the Latin for “The Three Days.” These are the holiest days of the Church year!

What really do the liturgies of the Triduum celebrate? Most all of us believe we know the answer. We assume
that Thursday commemorates the day Jesus instituted Holy Orders and the Holy Eucharist; Friday commemorates the day He was executed on the cross; and the Vigil commemorates His emergence from the tomb. We assume, further, that the liturgies of these days are dramatic reenactments of events -- touching, tragic and triumphant-- which happened during Jesus’ last days, and culminated in His victory over death. In other words, we assume that the Paschal Triduum is simply springtime’s parallel to winter’s Christmas. As we gather on these days, we often think we are to be engaged in acts of historical “reconstruction” that re-create scenes in the “Upper Room,” on Calvary, and at the tomb. People have been encouraged to imagine they are actually present at these events -- comforting Jesus during His tearful watch in Gethsemane, walking with Him along the Way of the Cross, and witnessing His miraculous “return to life” on Easter morning.

This view is reinforced by popular hymns that focus on the “historical facts” of the celebration. But is history to be the central focus of celebration during the Triduum? Certainly, early Christians anchored their belief in the historical (“this-worldly”) circumstances that accompanied Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion “under Pontius Pilate.” Jesus’ life, career and death were, in other words, attached to a specific time, in a specific place. For sure, His proclamation of God’s arrival in the present moment (God’s “reign”), His challenge to understand God as being in our neighbor, and His obvious rejection of elements of what people thought was “religion” (especially when used as a means of social or political control) -- all this took place not in some cosmic cloud of unknowing, but in a remote province of the Roman Empire, at a time of a sociopolitical transition.

Precisely because these faith-anchoring events are historical, however, they cannot be repeated or “reenacted.”
This is why the Church’s long tradition insists that what happened once in history passes over into the mystery of the assembly’s sacramental / liturgical celebrations. What the Triduum actually celebrates is mystery, not history.

These liturgies aren’t supposed to “take us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear” – to the Upper Room or the path to Calvary. Their ultimate purpose is not to retrace or relive the last hours of Jesus’ life – nor to catch sight of Him emerging from the tomb at Easter’s dawning. They celebrate not what once happened to Jesus, but what is now happening among us as a people called to conversion, gathered in faith, and renewed with the Spirit of holiness.

They celebrate God’s taking possession of our hearts at their deepest core -- re-creating us as a new human
community, broken like bread for the world’s life, rich in compassion, steadfast in hope, and fearless in the search for justice and peace.

As another reminder, there are NO Saturday Vigil Masses this Saturday afternoon -- only the evening Mass of the Easter Vigil at 7:00 PM, in which we will receive some new members into the fullness of the Faith through Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion. This Vigil Mass will fulfill our obligation to attend Easter Sunday Mass (and avoid the huge crowds that throng the Easter morning Masses!). Also, there is NO Sunday 5:30 Life Teen Mass on Easter Day. We will resume that on the following Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday.

I ask your cooperation with the police and ushers on Easter Sunday morning. In order to meet the Fire Marshall’s demands, when the church is filled to capacity for the 10 and 11:30 Easter morning Masses, the church doors will be closed, and the rest of the people then will be directed to the well-decorated parish hall for the overflow Masses. Also, you may really want to consider these in advance, as you can be guaranteed seating there, but not in church.

Please make time to participate in the various services during Holy Week, and may the blessings promised to the faithful be yours in abundance at Easter. The priests, sisters, deacons and staff wish you God’s choicest blessings upon you and your family this Easter!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-03-20T12:18:20-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/259aafa0bf2f15217a51b9ac02d4f368-58.html#unique-entry-id-58http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/259aafa0bf2f15217a51b9ac02d4f368-58.html#unique-entry-id-58Steve Dudenhoefer, our lay-missioner and friend from our sister mission at Ak’Tenamit in Guatemala, is here to speak to us this weekend. He has been laboring in the rain forests of that country for over sixteen years, now, and is filled with stories of the new achievements at the school that you have been helping to make possible. Though the enrollment has more than doubled in the last five years, many more students are awaiting the possibility of a chance for an education at the Father Tom Moran School, and a chance to make a difference in their region and their country.

The program has been so successful, that the Guatemalan government is asking Steve and the program to go into other areas of the country and replicate the program. Your generous gift next week in the 2nd collection (special envelopes will be available, and checks can be made out to our parish or to the Guatemalan Tomorrow Fund - GTF), your sponsorship of a child or more, and your overall generous and prayerful support of our work down there will create more than a few “dreams come true.” This coming July, several Knights of Columbus (some with their sons as well as some of our state leaders) will venture there again in a labor of love, thanks to your generous support that also will help supply the needs of our next building project. Despite our current economic downturn, we know that we still have it better off than so many down there. Yet, why do we return from there so uplifted and fulfilled? It’s because, in their simplest ways, the
people there know how to express their gratitude for all we do for them.

Can you believe it - next Sunday is already Palm Sunday?!! As my Mom always said to us, “Where does the time go?” This is a fair warning to you who come regularly to our church, that next Sunday there will be crowds coming to church (the palms are free), so if you want to participate in the liturgies in a conducive way, please come extra early to find a seat. The seating will be tight. The palms will be blessed at the beginning, making them the sacramentals that they were intended to be. Here’s an excellent time to teach the little ones that these palms are not toys, but special holy objects to help bring us closer to the mysteries that unfold during Holy Week. As you leave church, please try to be considerate of those who will follow you at the later services and try to leave the church at least as neat as you found it, taking home your palms, and discarding excessive palm strings and any other residue. When you take palms home, you can place them behind the crucifix or a holy picture or in some other special place where they may be legitimately venerated
and the mysteries contained in them to be meditated upon.

We are grateful to Father Phelps and Father Steinmiller for the wonderful gift of the parish mission that they gave us this past week. They spent a lot of time in preparation for this work, and the results should continue to bear fruit as we contemplate their message and reflect upon the great gifts with which God has blessed our parish. The witness talks by our parishioners were so outstanding that many came to know themselves better because some of them really “hit close to home.” I thank our coordinators, Deacon Bruce and Karen Turnbull, and Deacon Lee and Alice Levenson, for their efforts to help promote the beauty of the message presented at this time.

A wealthy man once watched the late Mother Teresa caring for a leper that had foul smelling wounds. He said to her, “I wouldn’t do that work for a million dollars.” She replied, “Neither would I, but I am doing it to serve Jesus!” She knew the difference between what money could buy and what it couldn’t. No amount of reasoning or proof can convince us of the value of caring for the sick and dying. No cost-benefit analysis can justify giving oneself to another in marriage or having children. Simple knowledge may tell us what to believe and what not to believe.

Ordinary human knowledge, by way of reasoning and logical proof, can take us so far in life, but only the Holy Spirit’s gift of KNOWLEDGE can give us some insight into God’s ways. She knew compassion! In these changing and turbulent times in the Church, KNOWLEDGE can give us a real perspective on the reality of life. Knowing that God is the center of all creation and life itself, we become more willing to trust Him and His timetable. That’s why we always seek to learn as much about God and His Church as possible, so that we can work in cooperation with Him for the betterment of the world and ourselves.

That’s why we, as Catholics, value human life “from the womb to the tomb” – because we have learned from Sacred Scripture all that we need to know about God’s activity in our life. With only a few more weeks remaining in his schedule, Deacon Chris LeBlanc, who has been helping us on weekends for the better part of the past year, will be finishing his work here, and will go back to his diocese of Pensacola- Tallahassee for Ordination to the Priesthood in June. We have been blessed with his presence and the many talents and
gifts that God has given him that he shared with us. Please keep him in your prayers long beyond his priestly ordination, so that he may best bring Christ to the people who long to be nourished by the Word and Body of Christ.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-03-12T16:44:07-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/ea01278e8b7b5c4bd44a959484468078-57.html#unique-entry-id-57http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/ea01278e8b7b5c4bd44a959484468078-57.html#unique-entry-id-57This past Saturday, Bishop Barbarito returned to our parish to preside over the anniversary of many couples who are celebrating 25, 40, 50 or more years of marriage! These couples’ marriages lasted so long because so many of them wanted to stay faithful to Christ and the teachings of His Church. Sadly, many others went a different way. This is not a condemnation of them, but rather a praise of those who struggle to be faithful to Christ and to each other in a society that promotes “the easy way out.”

In July, 1968, Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae. “Experts” predicted "a change" in Church teaching on birth control. However, wiser, quieter voices said that "a change" was out of the question, for this would have reversed the accepted and constant moral teaching, set out by Pope Pius XI in Casti Connubii and repeated by Vatican II, in the document Gaudium et Spes, #50, 51. But the quieter voices were ignored in the Sixties, a confused era for Catholics seeking moral guidance on spacing childbirths.

The anti-ovulent pill raised doubts about the classical teaching. It did not involve mechanical means. It was invisible and could have medical applications. Little was known then of health hazards or early abortion effects, and few recognized the disruptive psychological dimensions of contraception. So, a campaign began to spread across Europe and North America to allow the pill for Catholics. Confessors gave conflicting advice: some saying "no change," others "wait for it," others "follow your conscience" (code for "go ahead"). Well before the encyclical, a new “elastic conscience” took hold in the Church.

However, there were other problems. Natural methods were not trusted: “not ‘scientific’ enough” to satisfy a contraceptive mentality. All natural methods were called "rhythm." Married people were skeptical when told that this old "calendar method" had been superseded by the Basal Body Temperature Method or the simpler Billings Ovulation Method. Yet, some promoters of natural methods were not convinced about Church teaching—nor for the need of its essential work: to teach, sanctify and govern. They had lost heart. Others were not open to new developments, like the Billings or the Sympto-Thermal approach.

"High hopes" were also raised by the commission set up by Pope Paul VI to review the question. Since the majority report the commission presented to the Pope was in favor of change, that report was widely publicized. The more prudent minority report, the one against change, was noticeably derided.
When the encyclical appeared on July 25, 1968, knowledgeable people knew that the encyclical was not one Pope's hesitant "decision;" rather, it was his confident restatement of unchangeable teaching.

On the day the encyclical was released, it was already being undermined in Rome. Msgr.Lambruschini incorrectly told the media that the teaching was "not infallible" (a signal to “ignore it”). Others came to the opposite conclusion. But in 1968, who knew enough theology to understand that when a Pope repeats and elucidates constant Church teaching, this is infallible teaching in his Ordinary Teaching Authority? “Humanae Vitae” did not have to be proclaimed with a public ceremony, like a dogma defined by the Extraordinary Teaching Authority. It was the work of serious years of study and many more of tradition.

What most of us didn’t know at the time was how a young Polish cardinal influenced the way Paul VI presented the teaching. Karol Woytyla had written “Love and Responsibility” back in 1958. Later, as Pope John Paul II, he would develop and enrich the “Humanae Vitae” encyclical. In 1968, there was a famous debate at Oxford between some Dominicans and Professor Elizabeth Anscombe. She defended “Humanae Vitae” logically, and easily won, However, in the opinion of many crammed into the auditorium, emotions counted more than reason. During the debate, someone quoted a footnote in the encyclical by the great Dominican theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas, on the Natural Law. The Dominicans were flustered, for, at that time, some English Dominicans had absorbed Marxism. One even cynically described “Humanae Vitae” as an opportunity for power struggles in the Church.

In the wake of “Humanae Vitae,” aggressive dissent seemed to freeze many Catholic leaders. To a certain extent, acts of discipline against vocal priests only made them “media martyrs.” Some of these went even so far as to attack infallibility, even though they understood papal teaching authority. The Pope was not only attacked in the secular press; the most tragic part of the saga was to come. Even though there was a compassionate pastoral tone to the encyclical, so called "pastoral statements" from some Bishops’ Conferences modified the Pope's teaching in a slippery way. Canada’s was perhaps the worst. Though these were later corrected, the damage was already done. Through the media, Catholics heard "follow your conscience,” and misinterpreted it as a green light for birth control and sterilization.

Paul VI now has been described as a prophet, though in his time he seemed to be a martyr. Actually, his letter on the transmission of human life was really his finest hour. It did have an uncanny accuracy in light of the past forty plus years. He said that contraception harmed women (H.V. # 17). He was criticized sharply for linking sterilization and abortion to contraception. But recent decades have revealed these three ugly sisters of a "culture of death" are inseparable. Though people laughed at
him, years later even many feminists came to agree with him in so much of his prophetic teachings. He argued that artificial birth control cannot be used by governments to impose population control. The Vatican-led struggles against population control at UN Conferences in the 1990's vindicated his stand. He argued that love, not just life, is disrupted by anti-natal practices.

People who actually read his encyclical find a rich doctrine of married love. But the creative development of that dimension had to wait for another Pope: John Paul II. His teaching, that the love-giving and life-giving dimensions of the marriage act must never be separated, has been vindicated by the current manipulation of human life: IVF, surrogacy, embryo experimentation, cloning, etc. Human-animal hybrids were later approved in England, where the "Mother of Parliaments," first legalized abortion in 1967.

After the 1980 Synod of Bishops on the Family, Pope John Paul II personalized “Humanae Vitae” in his own “Familiaris Consortio.” Benefiting from a real understanding of the woman's cycle, couples can cooperate with God as ministers of life, open to the Divine Plan. Pope John Paul II promoted the truly interpersonal natural regulation of fertility. This is the only real pastoral way forward: widely promoting natural regulation of fertility- the so-called "Natural Family Planning (NFP)." He said that what is truly natural in marital relations can actually be a means of grace in marriage.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-03-04T18:17:58-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/be8e7b6443b95c3e03c4744668d8fc1d-56.html#unique-entry-id-56http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/be8e7b6443b95c3e03c4744668d8fc1d-56.html#unique-entry-id-56Thank you sincerely for your participation in, and support of our 43rd Annual Parish Festival. Through
your purchase of raffle tickets, sponsorships, underwriting of the event, and especially donating of your time and service as valuable volunteers, you have helped bring about another successful event for the benefit of our school children.

There were so many people involved that it becomes difficult to thank each individual. People have been coming from great distances as well as our local neighborhood to have a great time enjoying the food, camaraderie and various kinds of entertainment. Though we won’t have the final results for a few weeks (after all the bills have been paid!), suffice it to say that the parish festival has been blessed by the Lord with
fine weather and many good people who help to make it a wonderful success! May God reward you and your families for helping our school!

Our Annual Parish Mission will be observed from next Sunday, March 14th, through Thursday, March 17th. We’re happy to welcome back to our parish Father John Phelps, who spoke to us several weeks ago on behalf of the Redemptorist magazine, “The Ligourian.” Along with a Paulist priest, Father Alex Steinmiller, the two will work as a team to address our spiritual needs, especially based upon the needs assessment you answered for Father Phelps.

Bishop Barbarito returns to our parish next weekend for the diocesan observance of the annual Marriage
Anniversary celebration. Those couples who have been married 25, 40, 50 or more years will renew their commitments at Mass, and then attend a luncheon with the bishop following the ceremony. Congratulations to all of our parishioners who will be celebrating their wedding anniversary! May God bless you with many more happy years together.

This coming week, a busload plus of Catholic men and women will be headed for the state capitol in Tallahassee for “Catholic Days at the Capitol.” There, we will attempt to reach many of our legislators and explain to them our position as Catholics on many of the various pieces of legislation that will come before them for a vote this session. Sometimes we get a better response from those legislators who are not Catholic, compared to those who are “Catholic in name only.” Please pray for the success of our mission.

Steve Dudenhoefer of our Ak’Tenamit (“New Village”) in Guatemala will be coming to our parish on the
weekend of March 20-21 to make his annual appeal for our sister mission school and clinic in the rain forest of Guatemala. The following weekend (that of Palm Sunday), we will take up that second collection with the aim of supporting our mission there. Though we have been inundated with the most worthy of requests to help devastated Haiti in the aftermath of the great earthquake, we don’t want to lose sight of our need also to help the second poorest country in this hemisphere, Guatemala. This summer, our Knights of Columbus (some with their sons) will be taking their annual trek to that mission to assist in building more classrooms due to the rapid growth of the school population in Ak’Tenamit. Accompanying us will be some of the state officers of the 47,000 Knights in Florida, including a recent State Deputy (head knight) of Florida. We even expect to replicate our project in a neighboring area of the country, and help the people there realize the dream of Father Tom Moran, to educate and help keep the people in their own country, developing the talents and resources that they have in abundance, but needing outside assistance to do so. May your response be as generous as it has always been.

Just a reminder for those who are joining me this September on the trip to Germany and Austria, we will
have our preliminary meeting this Monday evening in the Conference Room of the Rectory at 7:00 PM. We still have 6 seats open for the trip. Did I mention that we will be in Munich during their annual Oktoberfest? Auf Wiedersehen! Ja! Ja!
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-02-25T20:41:50-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1a4ca1a5d24438d2e70f36f788a3bd91-55.html#unique-entry-id-55http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/1a4ca1a5d24438d2e70f36f788a3bd91-55.html#unique-entry-id-55We welcome Bishop Barbarito this weekend to our parish to confirm our teens and bring them closer to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We congratulate our confirmati (Latin for ‘those confirmed’), and pray that they will respond to the promptings of the Spirit in their words and actions! May their parents and sponsors continue to exercise their own special responsibilities in seeing to it that these young men and women stay close to the Lord and demonstrate their loyalty to God and His Church as they continue to develop their Faith.

Our big event of the year is here! The 43rd Annual Parish Festival begins this coming weekend, and I trust you’ll join us on at least one of the days. Bring along your family, neighbors and friends. This event has grown over the years and is a fund-raiser solely for the benefit of our parish school. That’s why we need volunteers (young and not so young) to help us make this another success. The $100 ticket raffle can generate
quite a bit of cash for many winners, including the $25,000 Grand prize! One way to offset the cost of a ticket is to “group purchase” a ticket. Several family members or friends can “chip-in” and buy a $100 ticket. Likewise, there will be various raffle tickets available at a lesser cost. On Thursday, the carnival rides area will be open for a “sneak preview.” This does not include the rest of the festival, but it still benefits the school. Come, join the fun and help support our fine parish school!

This coming Saturday is the First Saturday of the month. Each month we gather at the abortion center in West Palm Beach to pray the Rosary and ask Mary’s intercession to change the minds of those who would snuff out the life of the unborn. We begin at 9:00 am, and the location is next to Wendy’s on 45th St. at Village Blvd. You have permission to park at the Wendy’s lot. We look forward to your sacrificing your time and
joining us for an hour in prayer to end the scourge of the sin of abortion in our society. No amount of political posturing will end it without prayer for God’s help.

As predictable for the past several years, the secular media mostly chose to ignore the largest and longest running march in Washington, DC - this year’s March for Life. Though the media decided not to mention it this year, police estimated some 370,000 to 400,000 Pro-Life protestors descended on our nation’s capital to mourn the 37 years of killing innocent and defenseless unborn babies in the womb! Predictably, our nation’s
Chief Executive had nothing to say to these Pro-Life demonstrators, and even left town rather than be reminded each time he looked out his window and saw well over a quarter-of-a-million people voicing their displeasure at his own administration’s lack of respect for unborn human life, that he would have to someday reconcile his conscience with God’s teaching on human life. What a sad commentary on the situation!

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus and the members of our EDGE Middle School program for their help in putting on successful Fish Fry Dinners on Fridays of Lent. These wonderful organizations will split the profits so as to help each of them run the programs that they do.
In this week’s Gospel, we read about Jesus’ Transfiguration and His conversation with Moses and Elijah concerning His exodus to take place in Jerusalem. Our Lenten journey to the renewal of our baptism on Holy Saturday evening and Easter Sunday is meant to be a rather prayerful experience that prefigures our own transfiguration, and helps us enter into and try to understand Christ’s Paschal mystery. It begins with our celebration of Mass and continues with our own transformation, so that we can go out and witness for Christ in our everyday world. As we approach the days of our upcoming Parish Mission and Retreat (March 14-17), we pray that the time we spend during Lent will bring us to a closer glimpse of God’s glory, and prepare us for the day when we will be able to experience Him in the fullness of that glory.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-02-18T20:25:48-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e26831362077279f8693afb0a5b6cf2f-54.html#unique-entry-id-54http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/e26831362077279f8693afb0a5b6cf2f-54.html#unique-entry-id-54Some of our foreign visitors had stopped me to chat after Mass, and inquired whether the rather noticeable early departure right after receiving Holy Communion at Masses here is a custom in our parish. They don’t see that in their country.

Sad to say, it seems to have become one, having a long tradition from the very first Mass at the Last
Supper, when Judas was the first one to leave Mass early. He missed out on the Lord’s blessing (and, obviously, so do many adherents of that same custom). What does it say about our failure to take a few more minutes to express our gratitude for the great gift of the Eucharist? What has become so important in our lives than spending just one hour with Jesus?

Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked Peter and the Apostles, “Could you not watch just one hour with Me?” Did the Scriptures ever record Judas as expressing his thanks for anything that Jesus did for him? Judas had a false concern for the poor, and Jesus’ reply was that “you will always have the poor with you, but Me, you will not have.” I guess the embarrassing answer to our visitors is this: that for some, God’s final blessing is not as important to them as trying to get out of the parking lot early; or getting a place in line earlier for the “early bird special” at the restaurant. What message does this send to the young people? If adults get their priorities messed up, what will follow this bad example? Maybe if we take the time for some deeper reflection upon this during Lent, we might realize that if God is not first in our life, we might be in violation of the very First Commandment: “I am the Lord, your God; you shall not have other gods before me!

Our Forty Hours Eucharistic devotion concludes this Sunday afternoon with a procession of the Most Blessed
Sacrament from the Adoration Chapel to the Church, followed by Benediction just before the 5:30 p.m. Mass.
Thank you for spending time with Jesus in this awesome way!

This week, we will have First Penance and Reconciliation for our little children preparing for their May 8th reception of their First Holy Communion. This first confession of sins demonstrates that, even from a relatively early age, we all need to take responsibility for our faults against the Lord and His commands, and express our sorrow in the Sacrament of Penance, and then fulfill the penance as satisfaction for our sins. In no way should we approach the Eucharist if we are aware of any serious sin until we have been reconciled with the Lord and His people. Otherwise, we would be deepening our sinfulness by sacrilege through unworthy reception of Communion. A further understanding of this teaching was explained in my column in last week’s bulletin.

Several of our younger teens will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at this coming Saturday afternoon’s 5:30 p.m. Mass, when Bishop Barbarito visits us again and prays for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. May that strength given them in this special Sacrament enable them to live out their faith well, especially in view of today’s temptations that pervade our very materialistic society. May they also become good examples of living out the faith by weekly (and not weakly) participation at Mass and the worthy reception of the Eucharist.

We note, with a tinge of sadness, the passing, last weekend, of P. Rose Venezia, a long-time occasional parishioner, the mother of Father Arthur Venezia, Deacon Richard, and most recent parishioner, Robert (wife, Rosemary). Rose was just six weeks shy of her 100th birthday! Please keep her and her family in your sympathetic thoughts and commendatory prayers.

Our Annual Parish Festival is less than 2 weeks away! It is such a major activity of our parish and the Delray
Beach community. If you have not yet purchased your tickets, bought any of the several raffle tickets, or volunteered to serve in some capacity, or donated in some way your time and service, I urge you to consider doing so as quickly as possible.

The festival is our largest fund-raising activity of the year and produces a sizeable income to benefit out parish school. Your support is greatly appreciated by 270 students, several full and part-time teachers and staff, and a lot of parents who are hoping to keep the family part of the tuition as low as possible.

Set your calendars for one more important series of dates: March 14th-17th for our annual Parish Spiritual Retreat. Father John Phelps is grateful for the many responses you gave him during his recent visit to prepare us for his team presentation. It sounds like it will be well worth the time and effort to partake of this Lenten movement closer to the Lord. Make sure that you invite all our family members and Catholic neighbors and friends to join you for that mission.

May God bless you and your families with an abundance of grace during this holy and joyful season of Lent!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-02-12T09:08:55-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/14f63f2242bdd164b393786706242237-53.html#unique-entry-id-53http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/14f63f2242bdd164b393786706242237-53.html#unique-entry-id-53This weekend marks the beginning of the annual FORTY HOURS Eucharistic Devotion in our parish. Introduced into the USA by St. John Neumann, 4th Bishop of Philadelphia, in the 19th century, the devotion rapidly spread throughout the country; but it the South it didn’t take hold until more recently. We will have the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the jeweled monstrance in the Adoration Chapel each day this weekend after the 8:30 A.M. Mass, beginning with Friday morning and ending Sunday evening with solemn Benediction just before the Life Teen Mass. May I encourage you and your family to spend some quality time with Jesus in the Eucharist.

A big and hearty “Thank You” to those Knights of Columbus members, who volunteered the last two Saturdays under the leadership of Grand Knight Chris Grant, to trim the hedges and trees around the church and rectory; they really made a big difference in the way that area looks. We also thank the men and women of our school family, led by Tim & Danielle Marten, who worked so well in putting
on the Spaghetti Dinner last Saturday, at the close of last week’s Catholic Schools Week.
What a wonderful way, combined with the Talent Show our youngsters put on, to bring that celebration to a close. Thank you, too, to David Valdez of Carrabba’s, for donating the makings of that great meal! Don’t forget to patronize his business, too!
Now, we enter the holy season of Lent, beginning this Ash Wednesday (which is not a Holy Day of Obligation). Stations of the Cross will be conducted twice weekly, on Tuesdays at 7 P.M. and on Fridays at 9 A.M.

It might be good to familiarize ourselves again with the regulations and guidelines of the Catholic Church on fasting, abstaining, the Holy Eucharist and Penance, so that we might better plan our observances during this great spiritual season:
Fasting and Abstinence Regulations for Lent Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast (one full meal) and abstinence (from meat). Fasting is observed by all 18 years through age 59. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids (including
milk and juices) are allowed. Two other meals may be taken these days, but should not equal a full meal.

Abstinence is observed by all, once they have reached 14 years of age. Ash Wednesday, ALL Fridays of Lent and Good Friday are days of abstinence. On these days, NO meat/meat products is allowed. Note that when health issues or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. When in doubt, consult your parish priest. Fasting, almsgiving and prayer are the three spiritual disciplines of Lent. All the faithful and catechumens should undertake these practices in a spirit of penance and of preparation for baptism or of renewal of Baptism at Easter.
Regulations Regarding Eucharistic Fasting and Frequent Reception of Holy Communion Catholics who have made their First Communion are obliged to receive the Eucharist at least once during the Lenten- Easter season. That season extends from Ash Wednesday to Trinity Sunday. Though frequent reception of the Sacrament
Penance is encouraged, it is not obligatory during this season unless a person has committed serious sin.

A person who is to receive the Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception of water and medication, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion. The time of the fast is computed from the time of the completion of the consumption of the food or drink until the reception of Holy Communion.
A person who has received the Holy Eucharist may receive it a second time on the same day only during the celebration of a Mass in which he/she participates. A person may not, under normal circumstances, receive Holy Communion a third time on the same day. The exception would be on a Saturday, if a person receives in the regular morning Mass, then he/she may do so at a Nuptial or Funeral Mass, and again at the Vigil Mass of Sunday. Likewise the custom of receiving Holy Communion at three Masses on Christmas or All Souls Day is not abrogated.
Eucharistic Regulations and Prohibitions In order to be properly disposed to receive Holy Communion, a Catholic who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive
the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental Confession (unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of Confession beforehand). In this instance, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an Act of Perfect Contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible.

We also welcome to our celebration of the Mass those who do not share in the fullness of our faith in Jesus Christ. However, because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life and worship, members of Christian churches with whom we are not yet fully united cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. Yet, we encourage them to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and one another at that time (a spiritual Communion).

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-02-05T09:33:45-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/99266dd623a2a083307163149cde8bf4-52.html#unique-entry-id-52http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/99266dd623a2a083307163149cde8bf4-52.html#unique-entry-id-52Thank you for your support of our Catholic Schools Week programs and the wonderful ways in which we were able to observe it here, in our excellent parish school. The School Open House, Spaghetti Dinner, Spelling Bees, and the various Appreciation Days really set a delightful tone to the entire celebration. Above all, we appreciate your continued support of our special children in such a fine Catholic educational setting. It’s not an easy task to provide for a Catholic institution in this age, so we take great pride in our parish school, its leadership and staff, and all the parents and other parishioners who maintain it. May God bless and prosper our St. Vincent Family!


We are getting close to Lent, and the Lenten observances will include our annual parish retreat, held from March 14th through the 17th. Our parish retreat team, under the direction of Deacon Bruce and Karen Turnbull, is preparing to assist the retreat masters in putting on an outstanding spiritual program during that time. This weekend, Father John Phelps, CSSR, will be speaking at all the Masses to help us make the best use of our time and energy in observing the retreat. I hope that you’ll listen to his preparatory message and schedule those retreat days on your family calendar. I think you’ll enjoy the manner and schema of the program he has set up, especially as he teams up with another priest associate and members of our own parish. This coming Friday, February 12th, through the weekend conclusion on February 14th, we will begin our annual parish observance of the Forty Hours Eucharistic Adoration. It was first introduced to America by St. John Neumann, 4th Bishop of Philadelphia. This devotion gives us a special opportunity to come to pray before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Each morning, after the first Mass of the day, the Holy Eucharist will be brought to the Adoration Chapel in a special monstrance from the main church for you to adore, thanking Our Lord for His blessings upon our families and family life, asking Him to hear our special needs, and asking His pardon for slipping away from the true practices of our Catholic Faith. Each evening, during this time, the Holy Eucharist then will be reposed in the tabernacle of the church. Do you have something special you’d like to bring before the Lord in the Eucharist? This will be the chance!

Congratulations to our high school students who have achieved academic honors this past semester. From Pope John Paul II High School: (Principal’s List: “A” in all subjects) Lindsay Brammer, Hannah Brammer, Hunter Maxwell, Emily Sama; (1st Honors) Claire Brinkman. John Churey, Marrissa LaFontant, Bianca Loreti, Julian Loreti, Nicholas McNamara, Christina Richardson, Michael Scanlan, Stephanie Schappert, Alyssa Skehan, Holly Stryjek, Collin Transleau, Gerald Williston, Katherine Williston, Katherine Youngross; (2nd Honors) Katherine Roussin. From Cardinal Newman High School: (1st Honors) Christine Delgado, Jennifer Grant, Justin Hey, Nicolyn Rohrer, Alec Therien and Lacey Zuccala; (2nd Honors) Allison Swank. We congratulate all of our scholars and encourage those who “almost made the list” to continue in their good efforts to do so the next time!

We’re drawing closer to the parish’s biggest fund-raiser of the year, the 3-day extravaganza we know as the Annual Parish Festival. The proceeds benefit our St. Vincent Ferrer School, and make possible some great Catholic educational possibilities for Delray Beach area families. Our parents and students will be outside the church doors these next few weekends selling the $100 raffle tickets. While it may seem steep for some people, you can consider grouping a few family members or friends together to purchase a ticket. The payoffs start at $25,000, one of the best bargain prizes in this entire area. Won’t you consider helping the cause of Catholic education at our school? It’s deductible on your income tax filing, and you’ll be benefitting so many children.

Thank you for your pledge to the DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal) last week. If you happen to have forgotten your pledge envelope, you can always put it in with the regular collection. We will sort and credit your account with the diocese. Let’s try to reach our goal again this year; you can make it happen! God bless you!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-01-10T15:50:01-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fd5f03ecaff0ca44b378160dcf75e878-51.html#unique-entry-id-51http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/fd5f03ecaff0ca44b378160dcf75e878-51.html#unique-entry-id-51
For more information on the pilgrimage, or to begin booking your reservation now or make a deposit,
please contact the parish office.]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-01-30T15:01:41-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/bd0b3e06ef7452e2cd68cef3e4517f95-50.html#unique-entry-id-50http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/bd0b3e06ef7452e2cd68cef3e4517f95-50.html#unique-entry-id-50THANK YOU, thank you for your most generous response to the Haitian relief efforts! So far, our parish has donated $30,000 in cash and checks that will be forwarded through the diocese to Catholic Relief Services for distribution to the needs of the people of Haiti. This does not count the funds raised through our school children. Your most generous response to God’s people in need will not be overlooked by the Lord of all, especially when His children are suffering! We also are grateful for the donations of food and water for Haiti, coming steadily each day. These are loaded onto a container ship in Miami for a three-day journey to that shattered country.

There are so many requests for help and so many people of good will who want to help in the desperate situation in Haiti that it’s necessary to work with and through legitimate organizations that can funnel and match up these needs and responses. Sometimes people just discard their old and worn clothing and drop them off at the church to “get rid” of their refuse. When these are being sorted by members and volunteers of the Haitian relief programs here, they have to be “trashed.” That’s unfortunate, and a waste of the time and effort of the volunteers. What is needed most are: tents, tarps, blankets, rolls of large heavy duty plastic bags. These items give the Haitian people something to protect themselves from the elements while they sleep in parks, lots, fields and elsewhere in the open.

They do not want sheets or linens. They also need canned or pre-packaged non-perishable foods and bottled water. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission in Delray Beach is coordinating these relief efforts; its administrator, Father Roland, has been in Haiti for a week to see what more can be done to get the relief to the people in most need.

As you may have now heard, Father Ridore’s sister has been rescued and is recuperating in the Dominican Republic. People have asked about raising additional funds to rebuild her order’s convent in Haiti. At this time, and until we get the direction from our bishop to do so, we will wait to see what plans the Archdiocese of Port-au- Prince has when it gets its new leadership. We will continue to work with those who have a real grasp of the situation to assess the projected needs for the future. We will also try to keep our perspective in continuing to support our own mission in Guatemala, without losing our focus on the immediacy of Haitian relief.

We also join our voices with many others in prayer to God for the two faculty members and the four students from Lynn University in Boca Raton, who apparently were lost in the collapse of the hotel where they were staying in Port-au-Prince during the earthquake. They had been part of a larger team from the school to work with the Food for the Poor organization in Haiti. Though their families and friends will grieve for their loss, their commitment to the poor in Haiti will be long remembered and, hopefully, emulated. We extend our prayers and sympathy to President Donald Ross and the entire Lynn University family.

This weekend is “Commitment Weekend” in support of this year’s (2010) Diocesan Services Appeal. Our goal is the participation in a “Sacrificial Faith Commitment” from every Catholic household in the parish. Every family attending Mass today is invited to offer a generous pledge to advance the mission and ministry of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Palm Beach. This is an awesome opportunity to teach your little ones the way to become good stewards of God’s gifts, and to make their own sacrifices in helping to contribute to the family’s commitment. Since we do have a large amount of seasonal parish family members, I would like to encourage them and those who didn’t receive a pledge envelope in the mail to take one today, and mark out your “suggested gift level.” While you are enjoying the climate here, you are included in our ministry, and we hope that you will assist us in it by your support of our diocesan-wide outreach programs.


This Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. The theme of the week for this year is “Catholic Schools: Dividends for Life.” Some of the other featured events are found in Sr. Maria’s column, but I wish to draw your attention to this Sunday’s Pancake Breakfast after the first 3 morning Masses (8:00 to 11:15 AM); the Open House on Friday from 9 to 10:45 AM; and the Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday from 5 to 8 PM in the Gym. God bless the parents and teachers who are preparing this week-long extravaganza of educational, social and fun activities! May God reward our Principal, Mrs. Delgado, and the teachers and staff at our school, and all those parents who volunteer to serve in numerous ways to help out our school. God bless you! The St. Blaise Day traditional blessing of the throats will take place on that saint’s Feast Day, this Wednesday, at each of the daily Masses. Your infants are welcome to join you for a blessing.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-01-24T12:30:22-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/732d38b2d0bf771ad6aa84bee04da356-49.html#unique-entry-id-49http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/732d38b2d0bf771ad6aa84bee04da356-49.html#unique-entry-id-49This weekend, we take up that all-important collection to help the most distressed nation in our hemisphere – Haiti. The 2nd collection at each Mass this weekend will be one of the numerous ways in which we can help our brothers and sisters in that country that is only an hour away by air, yet so far away in economic and political stability. Catholic Relief Services has been able to maintain its local office there, and is joining a legion of other officially recognized organizations to reach out to the survivors and try to hold down the death toll. Sadly, the Vicar General of the late Archbishop was also killed in the collapse of the cathedral and diocesan offices, along with other priests and seminarians, which also injured the sister of our Father Danis. She is recovering in the Dominican Republic, as are many other injured survivors. In my last parish, my former associate pastor as well as the current associate pastor lost family members: brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. Over 40 seminarians were killed, along with several priests and sisters. Please commend them in your prayers, and then reach deep into your heart and pockets to help. The canned goods that we seek will be for our brothers and sisters in our Haitian mission right here in Delray Beach at Our lady of Perpetual Help Mission. Those people, who have lost many family members and relatives, are sending what money they have to purchase food and water for the survivors. We can help them by providing food for their homes from our supply.

Our annual Diocesan Services Appeal for the 2010 year begins with the video this weekend explaining the different dimensions of charitable outreach programs that are offered in this area under the auspices of the Catholic Church because of your extended generosity. Seminarians are educated (who might otherwise not be able to afford the opportunity to study in our seminary without your help); programs that promote a respect for life are promoted; spiritual, educational and ministerial help for migrant workers and their children are made possible; counseling for individuals and families (including those affected by divorce or addiction problems) is made available; housing and care for the elderly and sick throughout our diocese are made more affordable; and maintaining some of the Catholic schools in poorer economic areas and extended care services for children are provided – to name just a few of the benefits accruing from your valuable support of the DSA. This week, we ask that you contemplate what sacrifice you will make to enable God’s work to get done through His Church, and next week, we will ask you to make a commitment for this year, including a pledge to be made in the presence of Our Lord, and honored in the course of the next ten months. This week, all registered parishioners will receive the bishop’s personalized letter with a campaign brochure, personalized pledge card and return envelope. All of the pledges that were honored last year virtually helped us to reach our parish goal, without dipping into needed operational funds. For this, our bishop and I are grateful for your support. Our goal this year will be $209,000, and I know that by your sacrifices and careful gift-planning, we’ll achieve that goal, once again.

Thank you for your support of the annual local Rosary for Life this past Friday opposite the County Court
House, joining our Bishop Barbarito. Many of you are the same people who join me each month to pray against the “death peddlers” at the abortion clinic in West Palm Beach. For this, I am grateful. It is only through your prayers for God’s help and legal actions that we can win the victory over the “culture of death.” Without God’s help, it is impossible!

Congratulations to the men and boys, friends and associates who attended this past Saturday’s half-day Annual Spiritual Rally for Men at the Cathedral with Bishop Barbarito. It was truly a fabulous opportunity to join other such men in an effort to get back on the true course set for us by our Redeemer. The morning was filled with prayer, music, inspirational talks by “Dion” (of the “Dion and the Belmonts” fame) and Peter Herbeck, Confession, and other testimonies. The highlight is always the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and homily by our bishop. May you be uplifted in your family and work life and spread that Christian feeling to all others you meet.

Next week, we begin Catholic Schools Week. It is a special time for our parish because of the great school and program we have. Thanks to the leadership of Mrs. Vikki Delgado and her team of associates and teachers, we have an excellent Catholic institution to help us bring the best of knowledge of God and His creation to our youngsters . For a detailed list of the CSW events, please read Sister Maria’s column elsewhere in this bulletin.
Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2010-01-15T13:39:13-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/18ba57dcc9fcbd7f094aede43b1ce615-48.html#unique-entry-id-48http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/18ba57dcc9fcbd7f094aede43b1ce615-48.html#unique-entry-id-48The tragedy of the deadly earthquake that has struck Haiti this past week has wreaked havoc on the poorest nation of our hemisphere. In this most impoverished country of nine million people, 80% of whom are Catholic, tens of thousands of God’s people have lost their lives, including the capital city’s new archbishop, many priests, nuns and seminarians. The beautiful large cathedral in the capital city was destroyed, along with the major seminary, the residence of the country’s president, most government buildings, hospitals, churches, schools and countless homes. It could hardly have happened to a more tragic nation, whose people have been wearied over the past half century by corrupt dictators, inept politicians, four disastrous hurricanes just one year ago, and a political and cultural infrastructure that has been ravaged and raped repeatedly. Is this latest devastation what it finally takes to wake up the better-off nations of the world to come to the aid of their beleaguered brothers and sisters? We will take up a special Second Collection next weekend to express our solidarity with the victims of this natural disaster. Your most generous support of relief efforts will be channeled by our diocese to Catholic Relief Services, which has already been at work alongside numerous other charitable organizations to bring aid and comfort to those who have survived the quake. In the meantime, our Haitian mission church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Delray Beach, is asking for canned goods and dry-packaged goods such as rice and beans to help their starving relatives in Haiti. The drive was originally planned to help out parishioners of that mission who are hurt more than most by the economic crisis in our country and area, but who see the plight of their own family members “back home” as even more desperate, and are willing to share their own few goods with them. You can put the food in our food baskets near the entrances of our church. You can put your money in envelopes next week, marked “FOR HAITI.” Pray for the families of our seminarians, Wesler and Jude!

Not losing sight of the Haitian tragedy, we are still concerned (as we always will be) especially at this time of year, with the tragedy of abortion, and the lives it destroys in our society. As we approach the anniversary of the infamous Roe v Wade decision of our nation’s Supreme Court, we are reminded that there are still forces in our government, especially in our Congress, that consider human life to be expendable for the sake of convenience, greed, selfishness, personal or political ambition or desperation. All of our recent popes have labeled abortion to be the #1 moral issue of our time, because it reflects the ultimate disregard for human life through attacks on the most vulnerable innocent human life. It can NEVER be justified. That’s why we offer daily petitions in our Prayers of the Faithful at Mass, beseeching God to end this scourge of sin in our society. That’s why more and more of our bishops are reckoning with politicians who, while they describe themselves as ‘practicing’ Catholics, continually vote or work against the teachings of the Catholic Church on these and related important moral issues, always trying to rationalize their way of their morally precarious situations with the oblique, “I follow my conscience.” Their consciences are obviously not formed by thetrue teachings of the Church, enlightened by the Holy Spirit. No wonder the Archbishop of San Francisco severely chastised Nancy Pelosi after her ridiculous remarks recently about her disagreement with Church teachings on this and other moral issues. He clearly states: “It is entirely incompatible with Catholic teaching to conclude that our freedom of will justifies choices that are radically contrary to the Gospel—racism, infidelity, abortion, theft. Freedom of will is the capacity to act with moral responsibility; it’s not the ability to determine arbitrarily what constitutes moral right. While we deeply respect the freedom of our fellow citizens, we nevertheless are profoundly convinced that free will cannot be cited as a justification for society to allow moral choices that strike at the most fundamental rights of others. Such a choice is abortion, which constitutes the taking of innocent human life, and cannot be justified by any Catholic notion of freedom.” There are others, too, who continue to harp on their Catholicity while trying to rationalize their way out of the problem. They are so blatantly wrong when it comes to two thousand years of Christ continuing to teach through His Church. Please be advised that the Obama Health Care Plan as it currently is drawn up, is strongly opposed by the U. S. Catholic Bishops Conference.

ACTION: Contact your Representative and Senators today by e-mail, phone or FAX. To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.usccb.org/action. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices. Contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.
MESSAGE to the HOUSE MEMBERS: “I urge you to uphold essential provisions against abortion funding, to include full conscience protection and to assure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. Until and unless these criteria are met, I urge you to oppose the final bill.”
MESSAGE to the SENATE MEMBERS: “I urge you to support essential provisions against abortion funding, similar to those in the House bill. Include full conscience protection and assure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. Until and unless these criteria are met, I urge you to oppose the final bill.” WHEN: Votes in the House and Senate on the final bill are expected this month- January. Act today! Thank You!

In solidarity with the countless victims of the Roe v Wade decision, and those taking part in the annual Right to Life march in D.C. this week, please join our bishop across the street from the County Court House in West Palm Beach on Friday, January 22nd at 11 A.M., as we pray the annual Rosary for Life. If and when you can, join us for our Rosary for Life each 1st Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at the abortion center just north of 45th St. and Village Blvd., West Palm Beach. !!!

THANK YOU! We did it! We made our DSA goal for the first time in over 6 years without digging into parish operational funds! If the few remaining pledges are honored, we’ll be slightly over this year’s goal (so much for the nay-sayers and negative media).

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-12-13T09:42:17-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d721f3f5204c4f334a1b82c69c76c2b5-47.html#unique-entry-id-47http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d721f3f5204c4f334a1b82c69c76c2b5-47.html#unique-entry-id-47Thank you to the many parishioners who have expressed a lot of support for the priests of our parish this past week after reading another grossly inaccurate article in the P.B. Post about our parish. Already fed up with the concoction of such distortions, misinformation, innuendos, hearsay, “anonymous sources,” and gossip that is usually found in tabloid journals, they are wondering if the Post is so desperate for readership that they need another assault on the Catholic Church (it seems to occur every year around this time). One parishioner remarked, “yellow journalism is still alive in South Florida.” In this “Year of the Priest,” one might think that good writers and reporters would seek out positive information to disseminate to the public about the Church and the good its priests do rather than the tired, re-hashed articles they keep digging up. That’s why we cancelled our subscription some time ago, and I hope others will consider doing, also. While not being able to address each and every detail in this column, I’d like to know from what magical hat did they pull out the cost of the Adoration Chapel. Also, what artwork came from Poland? (Answer = 0) The four carved antique wood panels from Mexico cost a total of $360 (after a little haggling with the owner of the restaurant where I saw them). Additionally, the re-roofing on the church, was explained in a previous article (for those who come to church weekly and take home the bulletin, this isn’t new information); Fr. Grace hasn’t been Dean of the Vicariate for 3 years (as I happen to be the Dean); our DSA goal will most likely be reached this year, the first time in over a half-dozen without taking from the operational funds; and many more. In the past few years we have spent money on renovating the Youth Center, the St. Paul House (which holds the Family Life Ministry and Religious Ed offices), the old convent- now housing Family Promise Program (a joint ecumenical venture to help the homeless and jobless of our area) and Catholic Charities counseling offices, the gym floor (shoddy workmanship in the rather recently-built F.L. Center), needed repairs on facilities after hurricane damage as well as much-needed maintenance because of long-time neglect. This doesn’t include renovations and repairs to the school building. All of this was done with the guidance of the Parish Pastoral Council, and there is so much more not covered here. Thank God we have a fine Development Committee to guide us in our programs to find and use financial resources wisely; they’re a real blessing to us as they continue to search out the means to offset the economic downturn!

Many thanks to the special moms and supportive family members who conducted this year’s “Santa’s Secret Workshop” the past week for the benefit of our school. God bless them all!

There were many wonderful compliments presented after last Sunday’s beautiful presentation of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” which showcased a lot of talent in our parish and delighted quite a few parishioners and the numerous guests who attended. In addition to last week’s kudos, I offer special thanks to Jay Flood who constructed the props, assisted by Richard Cavanagh and Joe Zupo. Patrick Albano assisted with the sound and costumes, and John Krolikowski and the Flood Family tied in many loose ends to make this a timely and uplifting occasion.

You are cordially welcome to another seasonal musical event by our parish school children, under the direction of their music teacher, Mr. Pablo Falcon. They will present their annual Advent Concert this Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Admission is free.

Our Knights of Columbus have been laboring hard, preparing the site for a good-sized granite monument of The 10 Commandments, and several of them have donated their time and talent to this project. Thanks to their fundraising efforts at monthly Pancake Breakfasts and Friday Fish Frys, and a generous financial gift from parishioner Frank McKinney, we will soon have the monument in place, and those cars that drive by will have a permanent reminder of the Law of God, on which we base much of our moral life. Sadly, this type of monument can’t be erected on government property, so we are glad that the Knights of Columbus took the initiative to have it placed here. God bless all those who have made this “Project Moses” possible.

This Sunday, our Knights of Columbus will host the monthly “Pancake Breakfast” in our Kellaghan Hall, after the first three Sunday morning Masses (7, 8:30 and 10 a.m.). It’s a great meal for the family at bargain prices, and a chance to meet and socialize. Come!

The Knights will also be selling their annual “Keep Christ in Christmas” magnetic logos this weekend. Your support of them in their efforts last year put our parish #1 in the diocese in sales!

We give thanks and praise to God for the many blessings received through the services of men and women in religious orders – to help ease the financial burden of elder care for retired men and women religious. We can express some of that special thanks

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-12-30T18:11:03-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f9688f6af404457d04569c4f89dc5f27-46.html#unique-entry-id-46http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f9688f6af404457d04569c4f89dc5f27-46.html#unique-entry-id-46Riding down a familiar street in my childhood neighborhood one New Year’s Eve, I remember being truly amazed to see how quickly the signs of Christmas were gone. My cousin’s little daughter remarked, with what I now consider to be an amazingly brilliant question, “Who turned off Christmas?” She had learned about the 12 days of Christmas in Catholic school, and knew they occurred after Christmas Day, not before it. But, now the reverse seems to be true: we spend an entire month or more preparing for one day, and when it has passed, the decorations are hastily removed, the tree discarded, and the lights turned off.

Many folk and religious traditions, such as dancing and music-making, have been replaced by what seems to be America’s
biggest holiday tradition: The day after Christmas shopping. We tried to prepare for Christmas with the lovely season of Advent, but we culminate that time with a gift-opening ritual that is almost as frantic. And then, Christmas comes to an abrupt end! The season really ends Jan. 10th this year.

When I was a child, I remember that our own celebration of Christmas began on Christmas Eve, when we purchased a fresh evergreen tree, whose fragrance permeated the house soon after it was brought in. We decorated
the tree while Mom prepared the traditional Christmas Eve meal. Our custom was to set an extra place at table for the unknown guest who might walk in that night. Who knows who would come; tradition held the possibility that it might turn out to be Jesus Himself. We sang Christmas carols around the table after we shared the traditional Christmas unleavened wafer. Christmas Day would be spent AT HOME WITH THE FAMILY. We didn’t travel about visiting friends or even relatives; that came later, during the 12 days that followed.

Additional gifts were given at “Little Christmas,” now the Sunday after New Year’s Day (today). On this Feast of the Three Kings (Epiphany, or Little Christmas), we brought home the blessed incense and chalk with which we inscribed the initials of the Three Wise Men or Kings over each doorway, invoking God’s blessing and protection while we did so, ever reminded of how God protected Jesus from the wiles of Herod after the Kings returned to their country by another route. The inscription reads like this: 20+C+M+B+10. Incense signifying God’s presence in the home for the New Year was safely burned after dinner.

We know in our hearts and minds that Christmas should be a family time; but, oddly enough, surveys show that we spend less time with our immediate families during the month of December than at any other time. What is more, researchers tell us there is a 15 percent increase in the number of people seeking help for depression at this time of year. We work so hard to make our Christmases magical and meaningful that it’s no wonder we get depressed when we’re left with hearts that are empty and lonely.

In reality, shared experiences, not objects or gifts, are the things that seem to remain in our hearts the longest. As individuals and as families, we need to determine what we truly long for at Christmas – and then we must truly choose to celebrate those traditions that will help us to capture the essence of those longings. A word of caution: sometimes those traditions, if held too tightly, can rob us of real Christmas joy. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the traditions that we forget the significance behind them.
So, be sure your traditions point you to Jesus.

Let your next celebration of Christmas begin with a true Advent spirit of preparation for the real meaning of Christ coming into our life. And when He does come, may He find us truly watching and waiting, our hearts filled with wonder and joy. May you begin a New Year with Christ’s peace reigning in your heart. May you seize the opportunity to avoid the world’s focus on Christmas, and focus on the Church’s approach. In that way, you will allow the Christ Child to find a dwelling place in your heart, and share His peace and love with those who are in the greatest need. Thank you to all who helped make this Christmas such a wonderful one, by volunteering to decorate the church, assisting in feeding the poor, visiting the homebound, offering a special gift to our parish, or, as our pre-teen EDGE students did, portray
the live Nativity scene on Christmas Eve near the main entrance to our church. Each one did something
personal to enhance the spirit of this season. Happy New Year!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-12-18T10:15:31-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/2e53b18ecf6d1af80ad4f044ca06faf6-45.html#unique-entry-id-45http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/2e53b18ecf6d1af80ad4f044ca06faf6-45.html#unique-entry-id-45Now we come to the shortest week of Advent, the fourth one. Only when Christmas falls on a Sunday can we get the full impact of this week. It is the week of great hope and great expectation for all those who still have the ability to hope. Human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the lower forms of animals, we are blessed (or cursed) with the ability to think about the future and to form our actions in shaping it. This is so essential to our human life that, to be without hope, to have nothing to live for, is to surrender to despair and death. So, one of the reasons we read the Old Testament a lot during Advent is to learn what to hope for. The people of that time had the courage to hope for big things; yet, their hopes were not really so different from ours. They were hoping for the Messiah, and we hope for eternal life with the Messiah after working out our lives on earth according to His ways, so as to enter into His Life. We even have a little foretaste of this life in the Eucharist (at least, for those who receive the Eucharist worthily). In today’s Gospel, we see profound things happening is a small town and among rather obscure people, almost hidden from the rest of the world. This is the way, it seems, that God prefers to work: in quiet ways. In moments of prayer when we come to realize that “God is with us,” and this is translated as Emmanu-El! As we sing this Advent hymn for possibly the last time this year, may we come to know that HE IS! – and, then like Mary, proclaim His goodness in our lives by following His ways, and bring something of His peace into our little part of His world!

This Monday evening, December 21st, we will conduct our annual Advent Penance Service at 7:00 PM, with several priests available for Confessions during that time. It is an opportunity to prepare the manger of our hearts for receiving Christ at Christmas. When He comes, will He find any room to dwell there? I hope so. The last opportunity before Christmas is Dec. 23rd at 9 AM.

Our school children performed their Advent musical special this past Tuesday evening, and each of the classes from pre-K to 8 did a special holiday-themed presentation. It was a very delightful occasion, and I congratulate Mr. Pablo Falcon for the nice variety of music and for bringing out the musical talents of our 270 students. If you missed it, there’s always next year.

Many thanks to the men and women who helped us with the Christmas mailing this year: Frank & Rita Manfredonia, Anne McDonough, Mary Murphy, Cathy Everett, Lorraine MacLaren, and Eleanor Blaine. They are like God-sent to help us in time of need! I also thank all of those volunteers who participated in decorating our church this past Friday and this coming Monday. May your handiwork be pleasing to the Lord and His people!

As I enter my fifth year as Pastor here, I want to thank you for your wonderful support of our parish church and school. There are so many good and supportive people here to whom I am indebted for their help in making our parish a testimony of faith and strength in difficult times. I would be remiss in not mentioning our seasonal “snow-birds,” too, for they are generous, too. Your support of God’s people goes well beyond the needs of our own community. In gratitude,

I thank you for your generous contributions these past few years that have made possible the following: the growth of our mission in Guatemala, where the much-needed expansion of the school allowed 84 children to graduate this year (up from 14- four years ago when we started); the lovely structural addition to the impoverished parish church in Belle Glade; badly needed financial assistance to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Haitian mission in Delray Beach; the completion of the retreat center and chapel in Radom, Poland (which will accommodate 180 participants); help for the parishes in Pahokee and Indiantown (both building larger churches to accommodate their increasing numbers); and the help given to missions in Rwanda, India, and the Philippines. May God reward you for your kindness to His people in need!

Congratulations to the two recently (re- and) elected members of the Parish Pastoral Council, Lorraine MacLaren (2-year term) and Kit Johansen (1-year term). Their willingness to help us with the decisionmaking for our parish will add to the spirit of building up the Body of Christ here in our midst. We also thank Mike Wigderson, now concluding his term of service.

Congratulations to our young people from the “EDGE” youth program for winning 1st Prize in their division in the annual Holiday (read “Christmas”) Parade in Delray Beach last weekend. The theme of the parade was “A Traditional Christmas,” and our youngsters were carted along in a float as Mary, Joseph, the Three Kings and angels, towed by Joe Hughes. I extend a special thank you to Don and Duncan MacLaren, Jay Flood and Patrick Albano for their help in making the “Keep Christ in Christmas” float so presentable.

We, the Priests, Deacons, Sisters and Staff of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish wish you all God’s choicest blessings in this holy season of Christmas, and pray that your family may enjoy the graces of this holy time of year, when God became one of us, to assure us that we are not alone in our struggle to come to Him! May your New Year be filled with health, happiness and peace!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-12-04T08:01:17-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/2e83f7980b450027daeb5a9723dc76a3-44.html#unique-entry-id-44http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/2e83f7980b450027daeb5a9723dc76a3-44.html#unique-entry-id-44As we begin this Second Week of Advent, we are confronted with the paradox of this season. There is the tender image of the Christ-child in the manger. But we are also faced with the image of a powerful king who will not only rescue the poor, but who will also wipe out the wicked. So, Advent is about the coming of Christ, but especially His coming in glory at the end of time. Throughout this season, the Church insists that we remember we are preparing for the final Advent of Christ in glory, at the end of time. He also comes every day to root out the evil that afflicts us and to show us how to be truly who and what we are: images of God, made in His likeness. May we come to appreciate more deeply the reason for this season, and not confuse its celebration with the celebration of the season to follow – Christmas! That has a glory of its own.

This Sunday, we make history again in our parish! Thanks to the wonderful members of our parish choir, and our very talented young 8th grader, Karly Parsons, and soloists Alicia Branch, Wayne Le Gette, and Michael Tischuk, under the direction of our gifted Director of Music, Bill Stafford, accompanied by our versatile keyboardist, Mark Galsky, we are able to have another “first” in our parish this Sunday afternoon at 2:30, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” It’s quite a splendid musical presentation, set in the hill country of ancient Palestine, - an ideal preparation for our celebration of Advent and Christmas. I hope you and the family enjoy this very unique musical-spiritual experience. The cast has been rehearsing diligently for weeks, and hopes this will make your Advent more enjoyable! I’m certainly going to enjoy my part in it! There is no ticket or admission charge, but a free-will offering will be taken up to defray the costs involved.

This coming Tuesday is the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics. Under this title, Mary is the Patroness of our United States. We celebrate the fact of the infallible teaching of our Church that Mary was protected from ALL sin (including Original) when she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Ann. This is also a major feast in the community of our dear Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy, members of the Congregation of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. May they rejoice in this holy feast, and bask in the glory of Mary’s privilege to be the Mother of God. Masses in our parish will begin on the Vigil (Monday, December 7th) at 5:00 p.m., and on Tuesday at 7:00, 8:30 and 10:00 A.M., and at 7:00 p.m. Because of the Holy Day schedule, there is no evening Mass on Tuesday, Dec. 8th, at 5:00 p.m. (only at 7:00 p.m.). May we always take seriously our obligation to attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation as well as Sundays (bring the kids, too!).

It is a special joy to be able to present the proposed budget for our church and school for the next fiscal year and have you review it. This has never been done before in our parish, but thanks to the men and women of our Parish Finance Council (chaired by Chris Grant, who also is the Diocesan Comptroller) and the hard work of both our parish bookkeeper and parish manager, Chris Currie and John Krolikowski, we think it is the best product of our combined efforts. It has undergone many revisions after many, many hours of discussion, pencil sharpening and debate. Though we have given you the financial reports each year since I became pastor here, this is the first time we have published the budget. Hopefully, it will help more of us to appreciate the extensive (and expensive?) operations that go on in running and maintaining of such a large institution as ours. God bless all those whose expertise and advice were given when they were consulted in these matters! They make the work a bit more understandable.

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus who put on this past Friday night’s monthly Fish Fry and have scheduled a nice pancake breakfast next Sunday. May their spirit generate many more such giving of time, talent and treasure – a true stewardship of God’s gifts to serve His people.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-11-25T11:06:23-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/03839edf752aee559c0d10e315f6481f-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/03839edf752aee559c0d10e315f6481f-43.html#unique-entry-id-43Welcome to the holy season of Advent! This is that wonderful time of year for quiet hope and preparation. It is also the time of year when the hours of darkness are greatest for those of us in the northern Hemisphere. The early darkness is marked by the winter solstice, when the sun’s hours begin to gradually increase. When Advent ends at Christmas, we celebrate the gift of God’s own Son to us. Jesus is the Light of the world, which the darkness cannot overcome!

The late, great Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, loved the story of the birth of Christ. In fact, he argued in his book, “The Grand Miracle,” that every other miracle of Scripture resulted from or prepared for or demonstrated the mystery of the Incarnation (the Word becomes Flesh). Lewis classified a miracle as “an interference with Nature by supernatural powers.”

We thank God that He does interfere in our world! Left to our own instincts, we would go our own way. But God became one of us because He yearns to make us one with Him. That’s why God has been miraculously interfering with us for thousands of years; He is constantly working miracles in our life. The problem is that we rarely stop to contemplate the depth of this fact. So, the season of Advent is the perfect time to do so. Even though God is somehow hidden in these miracles, none of these is as remarkable as the mystery of God becoming man in a tiny body, like any other, that a mother would hold, cherish and nourish. As we begin the season of Advent, and the start of the Church’s liturgical year, let’s recall the nearness of God to us through Jesus’ coming into our world. May the Great Miracle of God that happens once again at this time show you the miracles God wants to work in your life.

Next Sunday, December 6th, at 2:30 in the afternoon in our church, we will offer the musical drama, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” This one-act Advent-Christmas presentation will be a delight for you and the family, and is an excellent way to prepare us for the Advent-Christmas seasons. We will have one performance only. Our choir and cast have been rehearsing their parts so as to make this a most memorable event. We invite you to invite your families to join us and witness this spectacular program in our sanctuary. No tickets will be sold, and no special seating will be reserved. A free-will collection will be taken up that day to assist in defraying the costs. We guarantee that you will be moved by the beauty and content of the message it brings.

Congratulations to our high school honor students who have done very well in the first quarter. From Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, we have the following honor students: Principal’s List – Emily Sama; First Honors – Lindsay Brammer, Clare Brinkman, John Churey, Caroline Cook, Rachel Day, Arthur Drexler, Bianca Loreti, Timothy Marten, Nicholas McNamara, Michael Porter, Christina Richardson, Charles Roussin, Katherine Roussin, Stephanie Schappert, Alyssa Skehan, Holly Stryjek, and Gerald Williston; Second Honors - Collin Transleau. From Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, we have: First Honors – Christine Delgado, Jennifer Grant, Alec Therien, Elise Therien; Second Honors – Arielle Routhier and Allison Swank.

THANK YOU for your support in trying to help us reach our goal in the annual Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). As many of you hear the testimony from Deacon Chris last weekend, the support you give to this program will enable young men, such as him, to reach the priesthood through support of our St. Vincent de Paul Seminary. Additional funds help support the poorest schools of our diocese, and help maintain Catholic Charities activities, including a counseling center on our campus, day care programs for the children of migrant workers, religious education programs in our poorest parishes and the supplying of nutritious food for poor young children. We are getting closer to reaching our goal (which we haven’t done in over 6 years). You can use a DSA envelope in the back of the church or an envelope in the pews marked for special collections. Just write the words DSA on the envelope so that we can get proper credit. Then, when all the results come in, we won’t have to take from operating expenses to reach our goal.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-11-19T15:54:08-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/9fb59c2324aca83e0666dd40d9449fef-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/9fb59c2324aca83e0666dd40d9449fef-42.html#unique-entry-id-42Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Most of us haven’t met a real king “in the flesh” (though some have reported “Elvis sightings” and the like). Nonetheless, since we do acknowledge Jesus as our Ruler, Shepherd, Guardian and Guide, we are, essentially, making Him our King (in the fullest sense of the word), vanquishing our foes and leading us to the Kingdom. May He always be the most important figure guiding us through this life to the next.

Thank you for making and honoring your pledge to the DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal). As we draw nearer to our goal for this year, there is less likelihood that we’ll have to draw from our savings (as so many other parishes have had to do-and as we have done for the last half-dozen or so years), and will be able to come closer to balancing the parish budget. Your good stewardship of the gifts God has given us is the best way to make this possible.

The religious musical presentation of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” will be performed in two weeks in our church on the 2nd Sunday of Advent (December 6th), at 2:30 p.m. We invite you to invite your family and friends to attend this touching spiritual program. CAUTION: You may want to bring some extra kleenex with you!

Once again, we are privileged to host the annual Delray Beach Thanksgiving Ecumenical Prayer Service in our church. This year, it will be held on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. When you come to join us in prayer for the community, please bring along, if possible, a canned or non-perishable food good for the poor as your offering.

During the American Bishops' Fall General Assembly in Baltimore this past week, they issued an important document on married life titled: "Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan" The letter is another component in the bishops' National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage, which began in November 2004. The bishops said they addressed this letter "first and foremost to the Catholic faithful in the United States" but also offered it to others "in the hope of inspiring them to embrace this teaching." Though there is much more to read in the letter, a summary follows: The document encourages the use of natural family planning, which the bishops say promotes "an attitude of respect and wonder ... and fosters the true intimacy that only such respect can bring." Among other things, it calls contraceptive practices "objectively wrong" and "essentially opposed to God's plan for marriage and proper human development." The letter also quotes the Catechism of the Catholic Church in saying, "Cohabitation involves the serious sin of fornication. It doesn’t conform to God's plan for marriage and is always wrong and objectively sinful." It also names divorce and same-sex unions as two other "fundamental challenges to the nature and purpose of marriage." The bishops say divorce conflicts with "God's plan for marriage," but added that in some cases, "divorce may be the only solution to a morally unacceptable situation," such as when the safety of a spouse or children is at risk." They also encourage those who have divorced and remarried civilly to "participate in parish life and attend the Sunday Eucharist, even though they cannot receive Holy Communion."

The moves to legally recognize same-sex unions pose "a multifaceted threat to the very fabric of society, striking at the source from which society and culture come and which they are meant to serve," the bishops say. "Such recognition affects all people, married and non-married, not only at the fundamental levels of the good of the spouses, the good of children, the intrinsic dignity of every human person and the common good, but also at the levels of education, cultural imagination and influence, and religious freedom.”

To oppose the legal recognition of same-sex unions is not discriminatory nor a matter of fairness. The document says. "To promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman is itself a matter of justice. In fact, it would be a grave injustice if the state ignored the unique and proper place of husbands and wives, the place of mothers and fathers and the rights of children, who deserve from society clear guidance as they grow to sexual maturity."

To couples facing "modern stresses upon marriage," such as "the conflict between work and home, economic hardships and social expectations," the bishops urge them to "turn to the Lord for help" and to utilize church programs and ministries "that can help save marriages, even those in serious difficulty." "The vision of married life and love that we have presented in this pastoral letter is meant to be a foundation and reference point for the many works of evangelization, catechesis, pastoral care, education and advocacy carried on in our dioceses, parishes, schools, agencies, movements and programs," says the document's closing section, called a "commitment to ministry."

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-11-13T13:45:31-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/839247019c8a18875639961df42230c8-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/839247019c8a18875639961df42230c8-41.html#unique-entry-id-41Members of our recently-formed Parish Development Committee will address our own congregation at Masses this weekend concerning our approach to stewardship of our parish. They have been preparing their thoughts (after listening to your ideas and suggestions) on how to better help our parish grow and serve the large number of parishioners and guests that depend on St. Vincent Ferrer for spiritual, emotional and educational sustenance. Knowing how to balance their own stewardship of time, talent and treasure seems to enable them to approach so many of these matters in a collaborative effort, and to advise the Parish Pastoral Council and me on how to put forward a strategic plan of action dealing with our finances and investments for our parish for the next several years. I’m grateful that they not only take an interest, but also the time and energy needed to help us succeed. God bless them, and may they continue to serve us with such a generous and willing spirit.

Congratulations to Heather Hackett and her team of volunteers who sponsored our diocesan-wide Middle School Youth Group Rally this past Saturday. Considering all the preparation and work with our own youth that Heather undertakes, this was no easy feat to host the additional teens that came to enjoy a spiritual uplift with worship and praise music, Holy Mass and a number of other wonderful activities during the day. I hope that all those who participated in the rally will be “spiritually charged” as they return to energize their own parishes and parish youth programs.

Our one act Advent-Christmas musical presentation “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” is rapidly approaching. We will have one performance only, on Sunday afternoon, December 6th at 2:30 P.M. in our church. Our choir and cast have been rehearsing their parts so as to make this a most memorable presentation. We invite you to invite your families to witness this spectacular program in our sanctuary. No tickets will be sold, and no special seating will be reserved. A free-will collection will be taken up that day to assist in defraying the costs. We guarantee you will be moved by the beauty and content of the message contained therein (you may want to bring some Kleenex along!).

We welcome Mother Hedwig Cierpinska and her assistant, Sister Dorothy Baranowska in their official visit to our parish this week. Like all good religious superiors, it’s necessary to go out to the various missions of their congregation periodically to “inquire and inspire.” May they feel most welcome by our hospitality.

Fr. Jimmy’s reception will take place next Sunday in Kelleghan Hall, after he celebrates the 11:30 Mass in our church. This will be a special opportunity to thank him for his service here and to wish him well in his new assignment at St. Joan of Arc Parish. At a special commissioning ceremony this past week, we had several new Altar Servers receive their blessing as servers in our parish. I congratulate them, and especially thank Chris and Susan Grant, as well as Lee and Alice Levenson, who help prepare the new servers and keep watch over them in their service to our parish.

Please keep in your prayerful remembrance Claudia Hilaire, the 29-year old sister of one of our two Haitian seminarians, Wesler Hilaire, who worked here this past summer. She died suddenly, two weeks ago in Haiti. In the past year, Wesler has lost his father and sister, preceded three years earlier by his mother. During all this, he continues to study and to advance toward priestly service in our diocese. May his resolve to be a good priest be strengthened by God’s grace as well as his own efforts to persevere through all the difficulties that he must face.

Next September, I am planning to make the pilgrimage to the Alpine areas of Germany and Austria, to see the famous Passion Play in Oberammergau (given once every 10 years), and to travel the “Sound of Music” tour in and around Salzburg. I hope to include a side trip to the infamous concentration camp at Dachau, the birthplace of Pope Benedict, and several beautiful shrines and other sights in that area. If you are interested in joining in the pilgrimage, please contact me or submit your name through our parish office. The duration of the trip will be about 12 days, depending on how many special side trips we will make. More information will follow.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-11-05T15:50:45-05:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/5d90b204977067d21a183e75eb466a23-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/5d90b204977067d21a183e75eb466a23-40.html#unique-entry-id-40With much gratitude, I want to thank the many women and men who helped prepare the great Auction-Dinner-Dance on Saturday night, November 7th. They made a full fledged effort to bring about beautiful results, including preparing the elegant setting, gathering and preparing the gift baskets and other prizes, sending the invitations, and more. There is another part of this bulletin that’s been set aside to list the names of the people who were responsible for its success.

We have something of special pre-Christmas significance to bring to your attention that will be taking place soon. St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Delray Beach will be one of the only churches in southeast Florida this year to host this special type of religious-themed musical event. Join us on Sunday, December 6th at 2:30 in the afternoon, as we host a beautiful Advent-Christmas themed musical performance in the church sanctuary. This one-time, hour-long presentation is a modern- day take on several medieval mystery plays performed in the churches before Christmas, such as “Herod” or “Daniel,” and is produced as an English-language opera. The popular work, entitled “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” tells the apocryphal story of a penniless widow and her young crippled shepherd boy who are visited by the Three Kings on their way to Bethlehem. The opera composer was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, Gian Carlo Menotti, who died less than three years ago in Monaco. The roles of the shepherds and the chorus will be sung by members of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Choir. We offer this program as both a timely form of spiritual preparation for Christmas, and a meditative reflection on the ongoing conflict between virtue and vice in life. We guarantee that the lasting sentiments generated by this performance will stay with you for a long time. There is no admission charge, but a suggested donation of at least ten dollars will be received during that performance to cover the production costs. A light-snack reception will then follow in the parish center, whereby you can meet the performers.

Friday night of the previous weekend was a delightful occasion for a lot of the young people of our parish, as their parents sponsored “Trunk or Treat,” a tail-gate type of Halloween gathering in our parking lot. The children safely went “trick-or-treating” from car-to-car, to garner goodies, while their parents enjoyed the camaraderie that such a gathering engendered. We hope that this type of fellowship will continue to build up the spirit of the parish and its school. Thank you to all who put this one together. May your next ventures be as enjoyable and successful!

On Sunday, November 22nd, following the 11:30 A.M. Mass, which he will celebrate, Father Jimmy will receive well-wishers at a parish-sponsored reception in Kellaghan Hall, as he says his farewells to the parish where he has spent almost two years in service. Right now, he’s on a trip to the Holy Land. We wish him well in his new assignment at St. Joan of Arc in Boca Raton.

Catholic critics have reacted to a HBO Sunday night show called, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” that recently had a scene showing a painting of Jesus being urinated on, and which also mocked Catholic devotion to Jesus. They have questioned an apparent double standard in the treatment of religions and have called for an apology from the show’s producers. Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, criticized the episode, accusing HBO of only liking to “dump on Catholics.” “Last night’s episode demonstrates that Larry David’s best years are behind him. He ought to quit while he’s ahead.” Deal Hudson, editor of InsideCatholic.com, wondered why people are allowed to show such public disrespect for Christian symbols. “If the same thing was done to a symbol of any other religions -- Jewish or Muslim -- there'd be a huge outcry! It's simply not a level playing field," Hudson told Fox News. "When is it going to stop?” I believe it will stop when you notify HBO that you’re cancelling our subscription because of such blatantly anti-Christian productions on its network! Know for sure that we don’t subscribe!

As of this printing of this bulletin, I’m not sure if any Health Care Reform bill will make its way through Congress, but you can be sure that the one being rammed by Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts is not acceptable. Genuine health care reform should protect the life and dignity of all people from the moment of conception until natural death. The U.S. Bishops’ Conference has concluded that all committee-approved bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide adequate access to health care for legal immigrants and the poor. The bills will have to change or the bishops have pledged to oppose them. You can tell Congress: “Remove Abortion Funding & Mandates from Needed Health Care Reform!” You can contact Members through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters. To send a prewritten, instant e-mail to Congress, go to www.usccb.org/action. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices. MESSAGE to SENATE: “During floor debate on the health care reform bill, please support an amendment to incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights. If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed.” MESSAGE to HOUSE: “Please support the Stupak Amendment that addresses essential pro-life concerns on abortion funding and conscience rights in the health care reform bill. Help ensure that the Rule for the bill allows a vote on this amendment. If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed.” Both House and Senate are preparing for floor votes now. Act today! Thank you!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-10-30T12:40:00-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/59fc1f8f1ddeadfce4b43d3587d2de74-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/59fc1f8f1ddeadfce4b43d3587d2de74-39.html#unique-entry-id-39Our 10th Annual Auction Night – THE BIG GALA for this year to benefit our school, will be celebrated this Saturday evening. Come join us for a fun evening, and help us reach our goal for the coming year of maintaining and even improving upon the top quality education that our parish school provides for our future generation! Tickets are still available at the parish office. This is a wonderful event that should be a must on the calendar of anyone interested in our kids!

Most of the children in our parish have now received their own Sunday collection envelopes to participate in the third aspect of Stewardship of Time, Talent and Treasure. Even with quarters or a dollar each week, the money will go a long way to indicate that they are grateful for the various gifts God has bestowed upon them. In this way, they can show that they appreciate the value of these gifts by their support of God’s Church. This form of stewardship goes hand-in-hand with the other two, and is not to be neglected any more than the other forms. Though each one of us should dedicate some of our time and talent to help serve the cause of building up the community of faith here, it also takes our gift of treasure to pay the bills and fund the programs needed to promote this “building up of the Body of Christ in our midst.” That’s why it’s good stewardship on the part of parents to teach their children not just to put money in the envelope, but how to make it a sacrificial offering back to God, who blesses us in so many ways. Likewise, the family gets credit for their annual contributions through the assistance of their children’s offerings.

Father Jimmy will be back for a farewell Mass and reception after he has returned from his next trip to the Holy Land. We have scheduled the party for him following his 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, November 22nd in Kellaghan Hall. I pray that many of you who have benefited by his services to our parish will turn out in good number and join us in bidding him adios!

On November 3rd, our replacement for Fr. Jimmy, Father Michael Parrotta, will officially take up residence in our parish. Father Mike hails from Queens, N.Y., and was ordained for the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota, from which he is now retired. Prior to his priesthood, he had been married, is the father of two sons, and his remaining son lives in the Archdiocese of Miami. Prior to coming here, he was at St. Martin de Porres in Jensen Beach. We welcome him!

Our DSA goal is getting closer to being reached without tapping into the general fund to make up the shortfall. Thank You to each one who has contributed and fulfilled their pledge. Check out the giving thermometer, and let’s try to reach that goal in the Appeal’s remaining few weeks.

Though our Bishop some months earlier issued precautions in avoiding the Swine flu through unnecessary contact during Mass, it’s still good to revisit these precautions every once in a while for the sake of personal safety. You may avoid direct hand contact during the Sign of Peace by just tuning and nodding or giving a wave to your neighbor. The Communion cup containing the Precious Blood still will be withheld from the general populace during this precautionary period of time, and the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are to use the sanitary liquid dispensers found in the sacristy before they administer Holy Communion.

Inside this week’s bulletin are some photos of the closing Mass of our Diocese’s Silver Jubilee celebration. It was a spectacular event, and several of our parishioners had special roles in that event. Many of the diverse ethnic groups that make up our diocese wore beautiful costumes and performed their traditional ceremonial dances on that occasion. The websites of our local media covered the events quite well, and you can still download some of them to your computer.

A special big “THANK YOU” to the members of our Development Committee who made themselves available after all the Masses last weekend to answer questions about our finances after the issuing of the annual financial report. They also handled the rumors that abound when false information or misinformation is carelessly dispensed without checking on the facts.

Mother Jadwiga Cierpinska, Provincial Superior of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in New Jersey (Superior of our Sisters Maria and Dorothy), will be visiting the Sisters and our parish for a week, starting November 13th. It will be the first time since I came to St. Vincent’s four years ago that a Provincial Superior of Sisters teaching in our school came to visit. We welcome Mother Jadwiga (accompanied by another Sister Dorothy)!

November is the Month of the Holy Souls. We will remember our loved ones, especially those who died this past year, in a beautiful way this coming Monday evening, with a Special Mass of Remembrance at 6 p.m. Please consult the bulletin elsewhere for more information.


Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-10-23T15:08:19-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f803360033be2cf38eac97b38167bbf9-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/f803360033be2cf38eac97b38167bbf9-35.html#unique-entry-id-35Last weekend, we published the annual financial report of our parish for the past fiscal year, a tradition that we have continued at this time of year over the past three years. Throughout the past few years, we have made substantial improvements on our campus, including updating our facilities, new features in the church, school and youth center, new programs and ministries, additional personnel and the maintenance and beautification of the grounds. I’m very grateful to the volunteer members of the Finance Council and the new Parish Development Committee for their close scrutiny of our fiscal records, recommendations, and willingness to communicate further with members of our parish, including the several new members we have registered since the summer. This weekend, several members of our Parish Development Committee will be on hand after Masses to answer queries concerning the financial report and other pertinent matters that are of concern to all of us. Following Saturday afternoon Masses, they welcome you to the Conference Room in the parish office across from the east door of our church. Following Sunday morning Masses, you are welcome to partake of some coffee and donuts in Kellaghan Hall while meeting with our Development Committee members. After the LIFE TEEN Mass, we will once again be in the Conference Room. This is a great opportunity to discuss with the people who are working so hard to keep this parish a special community it is. We still have more work to do, including the replacement of worn-out air–conditioning units and additional measures to economize on the use of our facilities and equipment. Hopefully, we’ll be able to count on your support to meet the expenses by increasing our level of giving so that the needs of our parish facilities and parish family members will not have to be compromised.

Thank you to all of our parishioners and friends who partook of last week’s pancake breakfast, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. It was a great opportunity to socialize while enjoying an inexpensive, yet tasty breakfast.

Thank you for all of your generous response to our recent call to help us meet our goal in this year’s Diocesan Services Appeal. If everyone honors their pledge and makes their commitment count, we will not only reduce the remaining $15,300 shortfall, but will reach our goal and not have to take the balance from the parish operating funds in the Sunday collection to make up the difference. May all those who have contributed to this campaign be blessed by the people who are in most need of diocesan services, including seminarians, the aged, the poor, the migrants and the school children who attend in Catholic schools that cannot otherwise sustain themselves.

Thank you to the parish members who came to the closing of the diocese’s 25th anniversary observance this past Saturday. Everyone who went came home with special memories of the gala event. Those who carried banners, or dressed in special regalia to mark the occasion gave our parish a special presence in the midst of the 49 other parishes and 4 missions. It will certainly be a special remembrance in the minds of those who were part of the beginnings of our diocese. We look forward to the next twenty-five years, and may they be blessed, too!

Thank you to the parents and teens of our LIFE TEEN and EDGE programs for making the Haunted House a success. The many hours of preparation were possible because of a real stewardship of time and talent by so many. Under the leadership of Heather Hackett and the continuous cooperation of our Maintenance Crew, a larger setup became a reality this year, and the talents of our many young volunteers made the “creepy” areas even more so!

Don’t forget to turn your clock back one hour next Saturday night in observance of the end of Daylight Savings Time; that way, you’ll get an extra hour of sleep. Otherwise, you may arrive an hour early for Mass!


Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-10-15T20:07:13-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d85768aee9c214a4434dfb0a86c8e91e-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/d85768aee9c214a4434dfb0a86c8e91e-32.html#unique-entry-id-32The annual parish Financial Report is posted in this week’s bulletin. This was prepared and by members of our Parish Finance Council (most of them being CPAs) and reviewed by the Parish Pastoral Council and the School Advisory Committee, each of whom had their input into the final product. I urge you to read it, and if you have questions you need clarified, please contact the parish office, so that we can try to arrange for a suitable response. What we show on the report is that even though a number of people think of this parish as a “rich” parish, we have been experiencing what many families and businesses have during the past few years’ recession and economic slump. Many of our people have been hurt because of unemployment or cutbacks in salaries or working hours, also. We have reduced both staff salaries and working hours, as well as given some people their “pink slip.” Wonderfully, some of our members have opted to continue their ministry on a voluntary basis, enabling us to continue our various levels of outreach to our parish and community. May God reward them!

Father Jimmy Hababag, our Parochial Vicar for the past two years (and mine before this in my previous assignment for another two years), is being transferred to St. Joan of Arc Parish in Boca Raton, where the needs of a parish almost twice our size are particularly acute. They have a large hospital, for which they are responsible, a school that’s twice the size of our school and a parish that numbers around 5,000 families. We all will miss Father Jimmy, who has served us well with his kind and gentle manner and unique spiritual dimension, and know that he will take this with him to his next assignment. Perhaps, after a “tour of duty” there, the will be managing his own parish somewhere in the diocese. At a date to be announced next week, we will host a farewell reception for him in our parish hall. His replacement here will be announced next week.

This Sunday, October 18th, is World Mission Sunday. For the sake of maintaining the most impoverished missions that our Holy Father needs to sustain in different parts of the world, we will have our second collection set aside for the needs of the poorest of God’s people. Your generosity in this matter is always excellent. A simple donation will always help, but a sacrificial one will be of even greater value in the eyes of God. “How shall I make a return to the Lord for all he has done for me?”

We’re getting excited about our 10th Annual Parish Auction, scheduled in our Family Life Center for Saturday, November 7th. The Committees have been very busy in making this another success to benefit the children of our school. Their members are selling raffle tickets outside of church on Sundays, and your support of their efforts is a real blessing as they struggle to keep the costs of a Catholic education at a reasonable rate, especially through providing scholarships and tuition grants. Thank you for your kind support; it means so much to our 271 students!

This past Friday marked the actual anniversary of our Sister Dorothy’s 25th anniversary as a professed religious. Though she began some of the celebrations in June with Mass at the tomb of John Paul II concelebrated by her pastor, the joyous event continues. We offer her our heartfelt congratulations and wish her continued best wishes in her work and additional graduate studies.

Our diocesan observance of our own Silver Jubilee as a diocese concludes on this coming Saturday, October 24th, at 11:00 a.m. in the Palm Beach Convention Center. Because of the limitations on auto parking, we are providing bus transportation, and the diocese will provide a light meal to follow – all for $5 per person. If you have not done so, please contact the parish office this Monday to arrange your trip/meal. Already a year in the works, the Mass will be a very celebratory occasion, attended by numerous archbishops, bishop, priests, deacons, religious men and women as well as hundreds of laity. I hope you can join us!

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-10-08T16:05:44-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a48915baa14cdd8c8cb7d124737fb600-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a48915baa14cdd8c8cb7d124737fb600-30.html#unique-entry-id-30God bless the 70 + people who came to last Sunday’s annual LIFE CHAIN on Linton Blvd. and Federal Highway, praying and giving living witness for one hour to the Gospel of Life, as well as the 21 people who couldn’t come, but prayed in church for the same intention during that time. I’m told by the ‘veterans’ of this event that this was the best turnout ever for our parish (certainly the best of the 4 times I’ve been here). The witness was impressive, especially on the part of the youngsters who came and held signs. Most people tooted their horns in favor of our pro-life messages (while a few obnoxious ones showed the level of their intellectual capacity to understand that abortion is the taking of innocent life). God bless all who sacrificed an hour of their time to pray for a change of hearts and minds of the pro-abortion mentality crowd.

God bless our Knights of Columbus and the teens from our Edge and Life Teen youth programs under the energetic leadership of Heather Hackett, for their successful First Friday Fish Fry (4Fs) last weekend. Our next Fish Fry will be on December 4th (there’s none in November because of the Parish Auction). We look forward to seeing you at our next 4-F get-together!

This past Thursday, a number of our parents took up the invitation to join the Chairpersons and Underwriters of the Annual Auction, and tour our school, as they enjoyed a tasty breakfast meal, and asked many pertinent questions on the status of our parish school’s future. They liked what new and exciting changes they have been witnessing lately, and certainly showed their interest in the future of their children in our school, pledging their support of our program, our staff and our plans for the future. They also inquired about the special monthly collection envelope for support of the school, and whether particular goals were achievable through each month’s supplement. The response was a full “YES.” Our new approach is what we call our S-O-F-T program: more Scholarships, upgrading Operations, maintaining Facilities and updating Technology. Now, for instance, with this month’s offering, we would like to purchase one or two more “smartboards” for our classrooms (cost is about $1250 each). It’s “do-able,” and if we look at the benefits derived from the investment of these funds, our children will be linked up with the technology of the 21st century. That’s why these next two groups of people are vital, and linked to one another.

Our Legacy Society Committee is displaying a passion, purpose and pride for our parish and school, especially when it comes to continuing the competitive academics and facility upgrades at St. Vincent’s Parish School. Among them, we currently number Jacqueline Didier, Louise Glover, John & Begona Krane, John Krolikowski, Jan Kucera, Mimi Meister, Dolly Steinman and Carla Zorovich (Chair). Since they will be working alongside our Parish Development Committee, you’ll notice a number of names in both. May God bless them and their efforts!

Our Parish Development Committee has been working feverishly to help us put together a strategy and develop a plan of action for the next several years to help stave off cutbacks on necessary services to our church and school, and to prepare to endow the parish with funds to meet the ever-encroaching financial drains on our parish revenues. With great gratitude, I thank the following who have offered to serve on our Parish Development Committee: Jayson & Vicki Chung, Don Pfeil (Chair), Tad & Julie Gibson, Bill Gillis, John Glover (Co- Chair), Chris Grant, Lisa & Mark Hargrove, John Krane (Secretary), John Krolikowski, Rob Mannweiler, Mimi Meister, Susie Roegiers, Carolyn Roehm and Frank Vilcnik. God bless them all!

What is so special about these two groups is that instead of complaining about the dwindling availability of funds to run the church and school, lamenting the financial losses we sustained because of the market and overall economy, or sensationalizing their disagreements in the media or other venues, they are seizing the proverbial “bull by the horns,” and are working very hard to build up a reliable endowment fund and sources of revenue for both the immediate needs and the future life of our parish. Like so many men and women of good will in our parish, they are being wise and true stewards of God’s gifts of time, talent and treasure! May God bring their good efforts to fruition, and may He continue to draw them closer to Himself!

From the bottom of our hearts, my family and I would like to thank you for all of your kind words and expressions of support as we recently observed the first anniversary of Mom’s death. Mrs. Vikki Delgado and her family express the same, since her Mom went before the Lord the day after mine. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord…. Very Rev.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-09-29T11:30:40-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/43224b44aa1ec6f4dc0d86d221245fd4-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/43224b44aa1ec6f4dc0d86d221245fd4-28.html#unique-entry-id-28A few weeks ago, I spoke at all the Masses regarding the serious need we have to make good on our assessment by the diocese for our 2009 Diocesan Services Appeal. With gratitude, I must thank the several individuals and families that made an immediate response to this follow up of our original appeal. Almost instantly, our deficit went down a bit, and the amount we must make up to the diocese is beginning to shrink. If we can keep up the momentum, we may solve our problem. Thank you for using the special envelope, or for marking out your pledge on different envelopes. This should help us keep down the assessment for next year as well as lower the final amount needed to make up the deficit. Understandably, this is not an easy task for many people. Yet, as Catholics, we are called upon to be steadfast in our Faith. So many people are counting on our ability to help them in their desperate situation. So we sacrifice – maybe a weekend visit to the local movie theatre (admission, large popcorn & drink, or candy = $$), or a less expensive restaurant, and park the car ourselves to save on even the tip). “To give alms is a work greater than miracles. To feed the hungry in the name of Christ is a work greater than raising the dead in Christ’s name. When you work miracles, you are God’s debtor; when you give alms, God is your debtor.” (St. John Chrysostom)

Despite many great challenges that we face today, we must find patience when we encounter difficulties that, at first, seem to be beyond our grasp. We can no longer continue to count on funds from our already depleted operating and investment accounts to meet our needs. Though there are some indicators that the nation’s overall economy is starting to show some signs of improvement, some of that won’t trickle down fast enough to shore up our own shortfall. Our parishes operate much like our own households. When our own household is unable to make necessary ends meet, we cut back on certain expenses and make the necessary sacrifices to see that it does.

By October 1st, at the strong recommendation of our Parish Finance Council, we will reduce our parish office hours, Gift Shop hours, employee working hours, and the size of our office and maintenance staff (not to mention the salary freeze and the cutback on virtually all salaries). In addition, we are completing recommendations for putting a freeze on the hiring of anyone for new ministries, and will look upon a pool of volunteers to do what needs to be done; after all, this is “The Year of the Volunteer”.

Reflecting upon volunteers, it was so good to see a band of our mothers gathered this past Wednesday in our Youth Center, folding, stuffing, labeling and overall preparing the mailing for our 10th Annual Auction, which we’ll have on Saturday, November 7th. I hope you’re planning to be with us in our Family life Center for that annual fundraiser for our parish school.

Next Sunday, we will “gather our forces and make a stand,” in a one hour commitment for Respect For Human Life. We will gather (priests, sisters, deacons and interested laity) at 2 p.m. at the intersection of Federal Highway and Linton Boulevard for this demonstration for the cause of human life (park your car on the NE corner - the lot where Carrabba’s restaurant is). We will be praying, and holding placards, ignoring the catcalls, obscene gestures or foul language of the people in cars who are violently against the pro-life movement; in fact, we’ll pray for them and the conversion of their hearts, as well as those in the $8 billion abortion industry, and the poor men and women who fall victim to the Culture of Death’s enticements.

This weekend, we are called upon once more, to open our hearts and checkbooks to help the people in another region of our universal Church (India) to meet their basic needs. Our annual Mission Appeal will be conducted by Father Thomas J. Kallumady of New York City, formerly from Balasore, India, a region where Christians are being persecuted,
their homes and churches are being burned, and financial resources are being drained because of the trouble there. May his message make us more aware of our fiduciary responsibilities in our stewardship of God’s gifts to us in this “land of the free and home of the brave.”

“To our shame, we must admit that people fear neither expense, nor even going into debt when it comes to satisfying their pleasures; but, if the poor ask them for help, they have nothing at all. This is true of so many: they have everything for the world and nothing at all for God because to them, the world is everything, and God is nothing.” St. John Mary Vianney, the parish Cure of Ars

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-09-04T12:36:39-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a022c272395785204959df7279ed5ff0-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/a022c272395785204959df7279ed5ff0-27.html#unique-entry-id-27We remember with sadness again that day that we now refer to as “9-11.” As we pray for the memory of those who were killed in that tragedy, let us also remember in special prayer the men and women who serve each day in our armed forces all over the world, especially in those “hot spots” of Iraq and Afghanistan. They are there trying to secure freedom for people in those parts of our world that are continually under assault, often because of fanatical leaders and their mindless followers. They are always grateful for our prayers and remembrances of them.

This Monday is Labor Day, a national holiday in honor of the working force of our country. Traditionally, up north, it was the last of the summer holidays before school resumed. However, this is Florida, and the force of the holiday can easily lose its appeal because, for many, the summer vacation period has ended and our focus is removed from the season when most people take some kind of a vacation. Since it is a legal (the Office is closed) and school holiday, there is an opportunity to begin that day with morning Mass (no afternoon Mass that day). How pleasing it would be to the Lord if we were to take the time, brief as it is, and make the sacrifice of celebrating Mass instead of sleeping a little bit later. This would be a most appropriate time to come to Mass in advance of the day “9-11,” when many cannot get to church. Remember how full the churches were when we felt the pain of that day? Wouldn’t it be great to do that again? What a way to honor those who have gone on before us on that day of infamy eight years ago.

On Tuesday, September 8th, we mark the annual celebration of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A special Rosary that day in her honor and for your intentions can go a long way in seeking her motherly care. She is a true mother who never abandons her children. Thank you to the Knights of Columbus and to our Middle School students from our EDGE program who helped serve up a delicious dinner on this past Friday’s Fish Fry. It was the first of the season, and we’ll try to keep this monthly event as much as possible (not in November due to the Auction, and not in January because it’s New Year’s Day!).

While we’re in the praying mode (and mood?), let’s also remember to pray for all priests in this “Year for Priests,” as Pope Benedict XVI has asked of us. Too often we may sell short the call to priesthood in the life of men who have tried to dedicate their lives to service to God and His people. When was the last time you prayed for priests? While we pray daily for you, we need your prayers, too! Please pray for us. Here are some prayers that you may want to clip and preserve in your wallet, pocket or prayer book.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-08-28T15:03:55-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/dc42eaf09b5f85c11eea8cfa03c8f05d-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/dc42eaf09b5f85c11eea8cfa03c8f05d-26.html#unique-entry-id-26It brightens my heart and it’s always so nice to see our parents and grandparents bringing the little children to weekday Mass, especially after dropping of the older children at school each morning. While we know of our serious Sunday obligation to attend Mass, weekday Masses provide us with additional opportunities to spend time with the Lord and to feel the power of His grace alive in our lives. It also presents us a means whereby the youngsters learn, by our good example, what we mean by “speaking to the Lord and listening to what He has to say.” The “little ones” learn so quickly from us that God’s House is a “House of Prayer.”

This coming Saturday, September 5th, is the 1st Saturday of the month, the day each month when faithful pro-life people come to the abortion center on Village Blvd. just above 45th St. to pray for the conversion of hearts – for those contemplating the crime of abortion and those assisting in procuring them. The Rosary begins at 9:00 a.m., and goes for a little over an hour. Some will also stay for the Divine Mercy devotions that follow. During this time, we sometimes are able to witness young, frightened women who receive our prayerful message and counseling and who then make a decision to keep their unborn baby. Some of them will even join us in prayer for their “sisters” to change their hearts, too. It is a safe environment, because police are always present, not to protect us, so much as to assist the cynical protagonists in their murderous work. Your presence is a great witness to respect life in all its stages: from the womb to the tomb. If you cannot travel that far to witness, then please pray for us in our mission there.

Please mark your calendars for our annual "LIFE CHAIN" in support of all human life. We will gather and pray for an hour at the corner of Linton Blvd. and Federal Hwy. in Delray Beach on Sunday, October 4th, from 2 to 3 p.m. We will gather about 15 minutes earlier on the N.E. corner of that intersection to distribute the necessary signs and give instructions on how to carry out a safe demonstration for LIFE. Please invite your family member, friends and neighbors to join us. Thank you for your support, and if you need more information, or have questions or suggestions, please call our Parish Respect Life Coordinator, Dan Holthouse, at 358-1016.

Soon, in the next few weeks, you will receive reports concerning the financial concerns and future plans for our parish, and the pains we have to work through in these hard economic times that affect so many of us, including the operation of our parish and its school. Recently, at the recommendation of our Parish Finance Council and with the “go-ahead” approval of our Parish Pastoral Council, we began implementing a multipronged program that’s already working to reduce expenses and increase revenue for the operation of our parish plant (church, school and other ministry buildings and grounds). So much of this is based on an appreciation of our role as stewards of God’s gifts to us, and how we can use and share these gifts with others. For instance, members of our St. Vincent de Paul Society Conference that works out of our parish expressed their own gratitude to many of our parishioners who have been helping to serve as members and volunteers in its charitable outreach programs, especially your donations last week to build up a basis for helping the increased numbers of parishioners who are really “down on their luck.” Likewise, the younger members of our family are being asked in a serious manner to show their love for God, His people and their surroundings, and to do what they can to show that support and love of their parish.

While it takes a lot of funding to build buildings, it is very easy to overlook the costs in maintaining them to quality standards. Fortunately, we’ve had an excellent team of workers in our maintenance crew. Unfortunately, the difficult part during these times of economic stress is cutting back in manpower, hours, or programs (or any combination of these), in order to save money for other vital operations. Like so many other organizations, we have begun to do so, evaluating the needs of the parish and, as well as we can, the needs of our employees. This isn’t an easy task! So, we commend a lot more in prayer to Our Lord, and ask Him to give the strength and wisdom we need to do our best in sorting out all factors on the playing field of life.

Our first Fish Fry of the season, brought to us in a partnership by our Knights of Columbus and our parish Youth Ministry, will be held this Friday. Both organizations benefit from any profits realized. With all due respect to our parishioners in the restaurant business, this may be the “best deal in town,” for that day. More information can be found elsewhere in this parish bulletin.

Very Rev. Canon Tom]]>From the Pastorcontact@ricamarketing.comNone2009-08-22T12:54:48-04:00http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eb18374a6394320f941beed065a39472-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.stvincentferrer.com/pastor_files/eb18374a6394320f941beed065a39472-25.html#unique-entry-id-25Last Saturday afternoon, we were happy to host Bishop Barbarito (who celebrates his 15th anniversary as Bishop this Saturday, August 22nd). He came to celebrate Mass for us and then bless the