From the Pastor
October/15/2009
The 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
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