Pastor’s Letter: June 9, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: June 9, 2024

7 Jun 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friends,

As we settle into summer, the Church celebrates the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Calendar. Ordinary Time fills the time of the year that is not set aside to celebrate the mysteries around the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. Essentially Ordinary Time encompasses all that the Church celebrates outside of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. This week the Church recalls the response of God to Adam and Eve after their fall from grace. Genesis records that Adam and Eve were created good from God’s love. God gave them free reign in the garden, but forbid them from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From the very beginning, God called humanity to success by giving the spiritual and intellectual tools needed for holiness. Simple obedience to God is one of the most important parts of the path to holiness.

The passage from Genesis this weekend outlines what happens to the person when God is disobeyed. After the Original Sin, Adam and Eve hide themselves, “are afraid,” and experience themselves as “naked.” These are the consequences to sin and disobedience to our heavenly Father. Almost all sin has some feeling of fear, isolation and shame. From the moment of the Original Sin, God sought to quench our fears and relieve our shame. The Law and the Prophets paved the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ and the fullness of God’s healing power. Cooperating with the gift of forgiveness allows God to bless humanity with spiritual freedom that includes a release from anxiety, fear and shame. Liturgically, it is the Mass and the Sacrament of Confession that give this great gift of freedom. Last week we celebrated Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The gift of the Eucharist feeds the soul with the necessary presence of God to bring healing. The Scriptures are clear that God does not want humanity in fear or shame, so the gift of the Sacraments give us the means to process and hand over our sin to God. When we feel ourselves wanting to hide from God, it is that moment that we are called to run toward Him. May the Church always give us the courage to access God’s merciful love.

With the kids out of school for the summer, things quiet down a bit and we are able to focus on other needs around the campus. As you know, we are doing a gym renovation along with the ordinary school cleaning. We are also seeking to transition to a new pastor in the best means possible. This week, we had our annual calendar meeting. The administrative staffs of the school and church meet for the day to schedule key meetings and events throughout the year. This enables us to start with many important decisions already made for the year. Fr. Luke and I are spending lots of time discussing aspects of the school and church that will allow him to seamlessly begin as pastor on July 1. With an organization the size of St. Philomena, it takes many people to guide the ship on a day to day basis. I’m always so grateful for the efforts of everyone involved to help St. Philomena Parish be a true family environment that celebrates our Catholic Christian faith in all we say and do. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David