Pastor’s Letter & Video Message, April 17, 2020

Pastor’s Letter & Video Message, April 17, 2020

17 Apr 2020 | Posted by: chadmin

For Father David’s April 17 video on Facebook click here or for the same video on YouTube click here. 

The April 19 bulletin has been posted here.

April 15, 2020

Dear friend,

Happy Easter! I pray you are well and healthy. I sure miss seeing everyone. Everything around campus is well. If you didn’t see the pictures online, Sheridan Road was repaved by St. Philomena. It is a smoother drive to campus and will hopefully help with the drainage issues on Sheridan. The flowers and trees are starting to bloom on campus, yet it’s back in the 40s this week. Midwest weather!

I hope you were able to participate in some or all of the Holy Week online liturgies. It was quite a new experience to pray through Holy Week in front of a camera and an empty church. No matter the time in history or the events of the current day, the celebration of the Paschal Mystery reminds us what Jesus accomplished for humanity. The Resurrection promises eternal life. While we all mourn our current separation from the sacraments, we are reminded that the sacraments exist to be a substantial way for God to come into our present lives. However, the sacraments are not the only way that God comes into our lives. The Season of Lent allows for a reflection of the time Jesus spent in the desert, praying and fasting. In some ways, it may feel like Lent continues. Spiritually, it is healthy to continue the lessons and the invitations from the Lenten Season into our current and future lives. Specifically, the call to quiet down in prayer. The best definition of prayer is a conversation with God. Human relations teach us the varying aspects of a conversation. A prayerful conversation with God can be a reflection on the beauty of creation, a thorough reading of some scripture, or a simple sharing of our current joys or woes. The basis for every conversation is time. We give time to those we love. God wants our time. As we embrace the beauty of the Easter Season, may we cut out time from our daily lives to give ourselves more fully to God.

Thank you for your continuing support of the Church. I am overwhelmed with the number of parishioners who are mailing collection envelops or dropping them off at the Parish Center outside mailbox. We are maintaining ourselves well financially at this time; but, certainly, we will evaluate our situation more in depth when Mass resumes. As a reminder, if you’d prefer to tithe electronically, you can visit our giving portal online here at www.stphils.com and click on the green Donate button at the top. As always, I am grateful for the support and encourage prudence for everyone during this time. Parish administration will also be prudent with expenses until we have a clearer financial picture after the shelter-in-place concludes.

This Sunday, the 2^nd Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. We will have a holy hour on Facebook and YouTube to help guide our prayer and trust in His Mercy. As we believe Jesus died on the Cross at 3pm on Good Friday, 3pm is considered the Hour of Mercy. During the pandemic, the pope has removed the obligation to receive Holy Communion in order to receive an indulgence, so this Holy Hour will carry the spiritual benefits to the faithful. Have a great week.

God bless you,

Father David