From the Pastor&#039;s Desk: Nov. 14, 2021

As we come to the end of the Liturgical Year and Ordinary Time, the liturgy speaks to us of God's judgment and the end of time. Jesus warns us to be prepared and to be ready for the Second Coming, when He will come again and God will be all in all. When and how the very end will come is known to God alone. But this we know for sure: the end time has begun with Christ when He became one of us in His humanity, died and rose from the dead. With Him among us now, we live our faith even in the trials of life, not in fear, but in the firm hope that God's love and justice will triumph and that Christ will complete in us in God's good time what we try to build up as we trust in him. For we are people of hope in a loving and saving God. “But of that day or hour, no one knows, but only the Father.” Therefore for us- His faithful people, this is a special time – a time of readiness and preparation, a time that requires patient waiting. Waiting is a time of patient renewal, growth and patient embracing of Jesus’ life and ministry as we await His coming in glory.

There is very little room for waiting in our world today. Fast food restaurants break records of how many people they serve per minute. Travel delays annoy us to no limit. No answer in a few minutes to text messages or e-mails are unacceptable anymore. We grow frustrated, angry and disappointed. This waiting, for us Catholics, needs to serve as a special time to encounter the presence of Christ now and today. This should be a time of vigilance that we long for with joyful expectation as we wait and listen to the Word of God, as we practice the virtue of patience to be more open to the presence of Christ who is always near. In all, through patient waiting, we become attune to the upcoming glory of God.

This weekend, we enjoy the fun and community building event celebrating our St. Luke Annual Festival. Thanks to the Festival’s Core Team, many supportive parishioners, people of good will and businesses, we are very excited to extend an invitation - especially during these still challenging times of the pandemic – to join us for the safe and joy-filled tremendous community-building event. I pray that God will bless us with good weather, a safe weekend, and a wonderful time for all who will come to join and support us. The festival changes some of the dynamics of our regular Sunday routine. Please be aware of some parking limitations and other possible inconveniences that we need to embrace. I ask for your patience and cooperation as we try to offer alternative parking locations to help and ensure the success of this wonderful event. See you on the grounds of the Festival!

“The month of November traditionally in the Catholic Church is dedicated to praying in a special way for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Holy Souls (also called the Faithful Departed) are members of the Church who await the purification of their souls before joining the saints in heaven for all eternity. Specifically, they are referred to as the Church Suffering (the saints in heaven are the Church Triumphant, and the faithful on earth are the Church Militant).The poor souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves or do anything to hasten their entrance into heaven, but we can and ought to pray for them as an act of charity.” -The Catholic Company

Let us pray that this time of preparation and readiness will be filled with the grace of God and will allow us to do something beautiful for God with our lives. “Let us keep the joy of loving Jesus in our hearts. And let us share that joy with everyone we meet. Passing on joy is something which is very natural. We have no reason for not being joyful, since Jesus is with us. Jesus is in our hearts. Jesus is in the poor we meet. Jesus is the smile we give to others, and He is in the smile we receive from others.” –St. Mother Teresa

Wishing you a blessed, safe, healthy, and joy-filled week!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy