Pastor’s Letter: November 10, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: November 10, 2024

8 Nov 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

May the Lord’s blessing be upon you all this day! This past week has been another good one — I especially enjoyed the school auction last Saturday—thanks so much to everyone who helped organized a terrific event! My parents definitely enjoyed their visit last weekend—they commented on how friendly and welcoming everyone is here. I also recently met some people who are new to our parish—they also commented on the welcome they felt. In a time where everyone is so busy and it would be easy to just be onto the next item on our to-do lists, taking the time to make sure visitors and new people feel at home is such a great gift! I’m thankful to everyone who gives of themselves in that way for the good of our parish family.

Taking the time for others is not easy…and if we are honest, most of us find it difficult to take time for God as well. Sometimes people share that it hard to find time for God when traveling. Others are challenged when they are hosting visitors. Many of our young people are challenged by full sports schedules. Even on slower days we might be more attracted in a given moment to choose entertainment. As we wrap up our tour of the Five Foundations by reflecting on the life of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, I thought it would be fitting to reflect on one of his most cherished times each day—the Holy Hour prayer time with Jesus in the Eucharist.

A story that I often shared during my travels as a Eucharistic preacher for the Revival was the inspiration behind Archbishop Sheen’s promise to the Lord of making a Holy Hour each day of his priesthood. As Sheen relates, he was inspired by the witness of a young girl who saw the desecration of a church during a time of persecution. As part of the desecration, the tabernacle door was broken and hosts were thrown on the floor. The young girl quietly made her way to the church each day for 32 days…spending time in prayer and then with great humility and reverence bent down to the floor to receive one of the hosts. After she received the final host on the 32nd day, a soldier caught her and ended up killing her. The parish priest, who was locked in the rectory under house arrest, was able to see all this happen through a window. That young girl was a martyr for faith and devotion to the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist! When Sheen heard this story, he was stirred with conviction to pray a holy hour every day, a promise he kept up until when he died. As many have shared, this promise wasn’t always easy to keep—sometimes Sheen would rise very early to pray before travel…once he even left an airport between flights to pray. No doubt, Archbishop Sheen gives us a good model of making that time in prayer with our Lord.

As his niece Joan Sheen Cunningham shared in her book, My Uncle Fulton Sheen, “Over time he came to rely on the Holy Hour, craving its benefits and seeing his time spent before the Eucharist as akin to breathing with the help of an oxygen tank. He encouraged all he could to practice the Holy Hour as well, explaining that its purpose was to draw people closer to Christ: it was keeping company with Jesus when he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, anticipating his torturous death…In his autobiography he wanted his readers to know that he didn’t want them to think that he was trying to boast of his personal holiness when telling them of his long-standing devotion. On the contrary, he was saying that without the daily Holy Hour he would not have had the grace to even ‘keep step’ with his fellow priests and their good works” (p. 90-91).

For this week, I’m throwing out a challenge to spend just a little bit of extra time praying with Jesus in the Eucharist. Maybe come 15 minutes earlier to Mass? Or maybe drop by the church sometime during the day? (Our church is accessible during the day by entering the parish office door at the covered drop off). For those who have key cards, maybe take advantage of the gift of our Adoration Chapel? (if interested in access to the adoration chapel, ask at our parish office). Perhaps during that prayer time you could pray for our parish family, or ask for God’s strength for whatever you might be dealing with. Perhaps it might just be a nice moment to rest with the One who loves us best. No doubt, it will be time spent with Jesus…and will definitely be worth it!

Know of my prayers and blessing for you all this week!

In Christ,

Father Luke