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From the Pastor's Desk: February 26, 2023
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From the Pastor’s Desk: February 26, 2023
On Ash Wednesday, we have begun the 40-day pilgrimage of Lent in which we join and imitate Jesus in the desert and ponder the fruits of what He learned and experienced there upon His return. Every Lent is a time of tension between the personal and communal aspects of life. Lent offers us an incredible opportunity to look deep inside ourselves to honestly evaluate who we are, and what our relationship is with Christ and each other. To help us with this process, Lent offers us the basic- and yet powerful ways- of how to go about it: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But too often our Lenten practices mirror secular New Year's resolutions - where we put ourselves on a spiritual “fitness” regimen, only to burn out after a short while. While it is important to support each person's discernment during this season, Lent also challenges us to look beyond ourselves to the communal good of the church and our faith community. It is a real-time to recognize that Lent is oriented for us to grow in holiness and to reflect upon some of the most powerful words of the Lenten pilgrimage, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."
This Saturday at the 5:00 pm Mass, we welcome Bishop Pohlmeier who will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation to confirm 39 youth of our parish- to be transformed in becoming true and authentic disciples and witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My young friends, I pray that the gifts of the Holy Spirit will forever dwell and transform your hearts, minds, souls, and lives. I pray that we will always hunger for the Bread and Word of God and ever more faithfully follow Him one holy moment at a time.
This Sunday in the life of RCIA we celebrate the Rite of Election. On Sunday afternoon, the group of our candidates and catechumens will enter into the final phase of their preparation for full communion with the Catholic Church. The celebration of the Rite of Election is a moment when the Church celebrates the direct action of the Holy Spirit in our midst as the bishop declares that those who stand before him have been elected by God and are so recognized by the Church.
My dear Catechumens and Candidates, please know that your experience of true conversion of heart, mind and soul, your example of faith and dedication has been a powerful example to all of us who has traveled this road with you. Each of you has been truly blessed and touched by the Spirit of God during this process and we have grown in our personal faith with you. And for this I am most grateful to all of you. I pray for each one of you to grow closer in your relationship with Jesus this Lent.
I want to express words of profound gratitude to everyone who responded to support the Bishop’s Annual Stewardship Appeal- “Perfect In Generosity” last week. Your witness of sacrificial giving and prayerful offering in order to support our family of the Diocese of St. Augustine is such a profound expression of the life of stewardship that we embraced and live by every moment of our lives. I also want to thank in a special way the Stewardship Committee who executed the success of the appeal in our parish. Thank you!
“I must give myself completely to Him. I must not attempt to control God’s actions. I must not desire a clear perception of my advance along the road, nor know precisely where I am on the way of holiness. I ask Him to make a saint of me, yet I must leave to Him the choice of the saintliness itself and still more the choice of the means that lead to it. We crave more because we were made for more. We try to satisfy those cravings with trivial activity and meaningless things. But this foolishness just leaves us exhausted, dissatisfied, and hungrier than ever” (Excerpt from Matthew Kelly’s Book, Holy Moments).
There is a need to make changes in our lives. What are you going to do about it?
Please join us at the Fish Fry Dinner and Stations of the Cross on Fridays of Lent.
I wish you a blessed journey of Lent!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
