Pastor’s Letter: November 24, 2019

Pastor’s Letter: November 24, 2019

22 Nov 2019 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

Happy Feast of Christ the King! This week marks the end of the Liturgical Cycle and a new beginning coming with Advent next week. The image of Christ as a king may not be significant for 21^st century Americans, but it certainly is a key image in the two-thousand-year history of the Christian faith. Many countries and governments were ruled by kings in the world’s history. The king would set the tone and had power and authority over the people and governance. The world has seen powerful, holy, and servant kings and the world has seen selfish, prideful, and abusive kings. The Christian faith celebrates many kings as saints who modeled their governance on the charity of Jesus. This is the point of this weekend’s feast. All things begin and end with Christ. He is the firstborn of all creation, the alpha and the omega. By assenting to Jesus Christ as our King, we state that God alone has authority over our souls. It is the commandments of God that guide us and the call to charity that informs our decision making. We assent to Jesus as our king not to give up our freedom, but to celebrate our freedom by choosing His love as that which speaks ultimate truth about human interaction. May the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ illumine each of our hearts to know His kingly heart and seek to serve Him with all we have received from Him.

A Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I have always loved the Thanksgiving holiday. Not only is it a time to be with our loved ones in celebration of family and friends, but also an opportunity to eat and watch football =). The Bears play Thanksgiving Day this year, so that will make it a little more fun at our family home. The Thanksgiving holiday carries deep significance for our American culture. In every day and age, there are aspects of life for one to be thankful. As Catholic Christians, we are called to reflect on a spirit of thanksgiving at every Mass we attend. The Lord Jesus showed His love for humanity by laying down His life. He calls us to receive this gift by giving Him time, with a thankful heart, by our participation at Mass. The “Sunday Obligation” in Catholic Christianity is really the minimum way God wants to us to give our time to Him. His Real Presence in the Eucharist feeds us at every Mass. But God truly desires to be close to us every single day. We may not think of it this way, but we have control on how much time we give to God. Just like any relationship in our lives, it doesn’t grow without time. I think the best opportunity we have to spend time with Jesus is in our Parish Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. Eucharistic adoration is an extension of the Mass and an invitation into a deeper intimacy with Jesus. If you don’t have a key, you are welcome to receive a key from our parish office during normal working hours.  May all our hearts grow in thanksgiving this week.

God bless,

Father David