From the Pastor
August/22/2009
Last 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 renovations that have taken place in our church and on our campus in the past 3 years. He loved the new crucifix over the main altar, and he especially praised the beauty of the four stained-glass doors on the east and west entrances of the church. Then he proceeded to the Adoration Chapel, which he blessed, and called it a special place of love that Our Lord pours out upon those who spend time with Him there. His emphasis on the Eucharist in his homily and during the blessing spoke of the unity that draws us all together, as we celebrate our New Beginnings by
our living out the Comm--union of Christ.
Since the rain began to pour down fiercely as he tried to visit each building, he sent his blessings from the entrance to our chapel, and then, when the rain stopped, made his way to each of the renovated buildings to inspect what your generous support of our parish these past three and-ahalf years has made possible. He was particularly impressed with the Youth Center for our EDGE and LIFE TEEN programs, and learned of the good use that the former two-storied convent provides for the homeless program, “FAMILY PROMISE,” and the Catholic Charities Counseling Center in the same building. He met with most of the people who came, and spent hours with us until he had to leave, quite late into the evening. I join my thanks to his, to all of you who made that day such a special one in the history of our parish and help to bring about the renewal of our parish through Jesus Christ.
Our 40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration will take place in the Blessed Sacrament Perpetual Adoration
Chapel this upcoming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It begins after the 8:30 A.M. Mass on Thursday and concludes on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 p.m., before the 4 p.m. Mass. You will have the opportunity to spend some precious time with Our Lord in the Eucharist, as the Host will be exposed in the special monstrance on the altar. Groups of adorers are welcome, such as school children, prayer groups and organizations of the parish, to pray aloud during this special time, or to spend it quietly in adoration, asking the Lord to hear your special needs. Even though our church building is closed after the last Mass of the morning to prevent vandalism and worse, our Adoration Chapel is always open for you to spend a few moments in prayer with God.
Bring your children or grandchildren, too, and teach them about the Real Presence of Jesus there.
Our children returned to school this past week for the start of a great year. An Open House for the Pre-K parents and children last Monday evening, and a “Welcome Back” breakfast on Wednesday morning helped us to inaugurate our new year. Thank you to the Home and School Association under the leadership of Irene Hey who put on an excellent presentation. Our parents were introduced to the SCRIP program that will enable us to earn money for ourselves and for our school.
Thanks to the information that Sister Maria gave us earlier this year, we will be able to purchase gift cards through the school office that can be used like cash for a wide variety of store purchases, such as at Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertson’s Walgreen’s CVS, Sears, Target and many, many more merchants. The percentage that we receive by using these gift cards for our purchases will
come back to help us as individual families and our school. Even if you have no children in our school, your use of these will go a long way to help fund our programs.
At the recommendations of our Parish Finance Council and our School Advisory Board, and with the encouragement of our Parish Pastoral Council in an effort to build up our parish funding for church and school use, and to teach our younger generation how to responsibly share in supporting the Church and its vast work, we will be introducing the Sunday envelope system for Parish Stewardship to our youngsters, both in our parish school and our Parish Religious Education Program (PREP). This is an excellent teaching moment for them to be good stewards of the gifts given them, and to share in the upkeep of our parish.
Sometimes they don’t get the opportunity to really understand what stewardship of time, talent and treasure is all about. In this way, they can learn to budget and share their own resources for the good of others, and learn from Mom and Dad how to share in some of the other family responsibilities. Envelope packets will be distributed in school, or sent through the mail in the coming week. May the youngsters learn the best of traits from the good examples of their parents!
Very Rev. Canon Tom
our living out the Comm--union of Christ.
Since the rain began to pour down fiercely as he tried to visit each building, he sent his blessings from the entrance to our chapel, and then, when the rain stopped, made his way to each of the renovated buildings to inspect what your generous support of our parish these past three and-ahalf years has made possible. He was particularly impressed with the Youth Center for our EDGE and LIFE TEEN programs, and learned of the good use that the former two-storied convent provides for the homeless program, “FAMILY PROMISE,” and the Catholic Charities Counseling Center in the same building. He met with most of the people who came, and spent hours with us until he had to leave, quite late into the evening. I join my thanks to his, to all of you who made that day such a special one in the history of our parish and help to bring about the renewal of our parish through Jesus Christ.
Our 40 Hours Eucharistic Adoration will take place in the Blessed Sacrament Perpetual Adoration
Chapel this upcoming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It begins after the 8:30 A.M. Mass on Thursday and concludes on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 p.m., before the 4 p.m. Mass. You will have the opportunity to spend some precious time with Our Lord in the Eucharist, as the Host will be exposed in the special monstrance on the altar. Groups of adorers are welcome, such as school children, prayer groups and organizations of the parish, to pray aloud during this special time, or to spend it quietly in adoration, asking the Lord to hear your special needs. Even though our church building is closed after the last Mass of the morning to prevent vandalism and worse, our Adoration Chapel is always open for you to spend a few moments in prayer with God.
Bring your children or grandchildren, too, and teach them about the Real Presence of Jesus there.
Our children returned to school this past week for the start of a great year. An Open House for the Pre-K parents and children last Monday evening, and a “Welcome Back” breakfast on Wednesday morning helped us to inaugurate our new year. Thank you to the Home and School Association under the leadership of Irene Hey who put on an excellent presentation. Our parents were introduced to the SCRIP program that will enable us to earn money for ourselves and for our school.
Thanks to the information that Sister Maria gave us earlier this year, we will be able to purchase gift cards through the school office that can be used like cash for a wide variety of store purchases, such as at Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertson’s Walgreen’s CVS, Sears, Target and many, many more merchants. The percentage that we receive by using these gift cards for our purchases will
come back to help us as individual families and our school. Even if you have no children in our school, your use of these will go a long way to help fund our programs.
At the recommendations of our Parish Finance Council and our School Advisory Board, and with the encouragement of our Parish Pastoral Council in an effort to build up our parish funding for church and school use, and to teach our younger generation how to responsibly share in supporting the Church and its vast work, we will be introducing the Sunday envelope system for Parish Stewardship to our youngsters, both in our parish school and our Parish Religious Education Program (PREP). This is an excellent teaching moment for them to be good stewards of the gifts given them, and to share in the upkeep of our parish.
Sometimes they don’t get the opportunity to really understand what stewardship of time, talent and treasure is all about. In this way, they can learn to budget and share their own resources for the good of others, and learn from Mom and Dad how to share in some of the other family responsibilities. Envelope packets will be distributed in school, or sent through the mail in the coming week. May the youngsters learn the best of traits from the good examples of their parents!
Very Rev. Canon Tom