From the Pastor's Desk: July 28, 2019

From the Pastor’s Desk:                                                                                                                      
July 28, 2019  
 
     Today's liturgy invites us to the “School of Jesus” – a school of faith where the Master Teacher offers the lesson of “teach us to pray.” The Divine Teacher in His lesson plan praises God’s generosity, mercy and attentive love in rich and varied ways, and in turn, tells us to call God the “Father”.  Jesus’ life was a constant communication with His Father- a penetrating, most intimate relationship between them.  Jesus’ example teaches us to pray to God, who is the most generous and caring Father, for all our needs.
     What is prayer for us?  St. Teresa of Avila defined prayer as “nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart to heart conversation with Him by Whom we know ourselves to be loved”.  For her, God is somebody who knows you inside and out; somebody you can pour your heart out to; somebody you can joke with when you have been knocked flat on your “rear end” (Interior Castle, Teresa of Avila).  We all agree that the essence of prayer is the language of conversation with God.  We all need to converse with God.  For that very reason, from a very young age, we were taught by our parents the simple and formulated prayer we still pray most often – the “Our Father”.  Today, however, the Gospel challenges us to go beyond specific needs and formulated prayer and to focus on the larger picture – to focus on the gifts God offers us in prayer.  Prayer is less a way of obtaining favors from God than a way of expressing to our Father in heaven, to Jesus or to the Spirit our trust in God, speaking about our life, our difficulties and our joys, entrusting to God those who are dear to us in life or in death and even recommending to Him those who cause us trouble. And remember, in praying we do not try to bend God to our will but we ask that we may do His Will.
     As you may already know, last week “Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle through the intercession of Venerable Servant of God Fulton Sheen of the United States, known for his preaching, especially on television and radio. Fulton Sheen, former Bishop of Rochester, was born to an Irish family in El Paso, Illinois, on 8 May 1895.  He discovered his call to the priesthood at the age of 24 and was ordained a priest in 1919.  He pursued higher studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington (US), the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.  A gifted teacher and speaker, Sheen’s homilies were much appreciated.  In 1930, he began participating in the Sunday radio program entitled “The Catholic Hour”, which reached an estimated four million listeners at the height of its popularity. In 1951, he began hosting a weekly television series, “Life is Worth Living”, on matters of faith that attracted some 30 million viewers. He died in New York at the age of 84, on 9 December 1979. With the recognition of a miracle through his intercession, Archbishop Sheen has now been cleared for beatification, following which he will have the title “Blessed” (Vatican.va).
     Let me share with you a few important dates and events we should know in our parish community.
     On Monday, July 29, the St. Luke Child Care Center will celebrate the 6 ^th anniversary of their service to our community. Their superb service to the children and their families is offered through their mission of love, care, compassion and dedication rooted in the message of the Gospel. It is with great joy that I thank the Director Amy Roberts and her remarkable team of teachers to bring such service to our community. May the Lord continue to bless you abundantly!
       As I mentioned last week, next Saturday, August 3, 2019, after the 5:00 pm Mass, I invite all of our parishioners to participate in another event that marks the history of St. Luke Parish – Groundbreaking of St. Luke Bell Tower/Gift Shop. This offers a great opportunity to celebrate dedication, commitment and generosity of so many of our parishioners and benefactors who contributed to the growth of the parish. Please find time to join us.
        On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, we will join with Bishop Estévez to dedicate the new gym at Annunciation Catholic School. This long expected project becomes a reality through generous dedication and support of our parishioners and parishioners of St. Catherine of Siena and Sacred Heart parishes and families of ACS school. It will be a great day to rejoice and congratulate Ms. Farrington, the Principal, and all who made this project possible.

Enjoy and relax the last week of July!!!     Blessed Fulton Sheen– pray for us!  

With prayers, Fr. Andy