Pastor’s Letter: October 2, 2022

Pastor’s Letter: October 2, 2022

30 Sep 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The October 2 bulletin is now available online. 

Dear friend,

This weekend I will give the annual parish update at the weekend Masses. I don’t have any significant issues to communicate to the parish in case you are not able to be present this weekend. The parish Finance Council likes to ensure we are providing an overview of the sacramental and financial state of the parish in the last year. Sacramentally remained consistent with our baptisms, weddings, confirmations, first Communions and funerals. For a number of years, the parish has celebrated more baptisms than funerals which is a sign of parish growth. I remain deeply grateful for the financial support by parishioners to the mission of our parish. The parish school is the primary ministry of the parish, but we have many other ministries that meet the needs of parishioners. The reality is that all of our ministries, including our school, require financial support of the community. As pastor, I am so grateful for every dollar donated to our mission. While we do charge tuition for education at St. Philomena School, we are dependent on parish subsidy and extraordinary donations to tuition assistance with programs like Empower Illinois which help us maintain a healthy budget. St. Philomena operates a $3 million budget for the whole campus. We need the participation of everyone to be successful. I am happy to report that we are financially stable with an operating budget within our financial means. Please continue to pray for the members of our parish Financial Council who serve on behalf of the parish to advise the pastor on all financial matters. We are very blessed with their expertise. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions if you find further information is necessary after the State of the Parish Update.

In Luke’s Gospel passage this week, Jesus invites us to say “we have done what we were obliged to do.” Jesus uses the role of a servant living in obedience to set the frame for how we respond to God’s law. The commandments of God exist to teach us truth and guide us toward union with Him. Christ wants us to see the laws of God exist for our good. If we approach God’s law and truth as that which obliges us, it removes the process of seeking reward. We follow God’s law because we want to show our love for God, not to get something out of it. While we all seek heaven, heaven is something that we receive and not something we take. If we maintain the attitude of a servant seeking to do the will of a master, then we will live in the Love of God who is Truth. Jesus says the truth sets us free. Freedom is for loving the God who loves us. When we love we seek to do the good for the other. Our love for God is a simple call to do what we obliged to do by following God’s Will. God’s Will is eternal life and that gift of heaven is what Jesus promises those who follow His law.

We recently started the annual RCIA class. The class is held in the Parish Center on Tuesdays at 6:30pm. If you or someone you know would like to be baptized, confirmed or receive Eucharist, or to simply to reflect on the Christian faith, feel most welcome to join us in the banquet room. You can email the parish office at parish@stphils.com for more information.

God bless,

Father David