Pastor’s Letter: November 26, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: November 26, 2023

24 Nov 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Over the years, Thanksgiving has become a favorite family and societal holiday. Thanksgiving is a celebration of our US history and has connections to our faith. As Catholics, we give Thanks every time we celebrate the Eucharist. It is the nature of the Mass to “Thank God” for gifts received and our journey of life toward heaven. As our society gives thanks it is such a great opportunity for us to see our lives, families, and culture in light of our faith. Even though Thanksgiving is not a Christian holyday, it carries connotations of our faith that we ought to live in our daily lives. No matter what life gives to each of us this day, I pray we all find a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude for the many blessings of our past, present, and future lives.

You should receive a letter from me about Ordinary Sunday giving. A number of years ago we started accepting donations electronically. More and more businesses are moving to online payments because it saves money and makes payments and donations easier. The more people that make their charitable donations to us electronically the more we save on purchasing envelopes. ParishSoft is the company we use to manage our online parish database. They also provide services to help reach out to parishioners to establish online giving. If you are interested in transitioning to online giving, this invitation serves as an opportunity to help. As you know, our church operates as a business that is solely dependent on donations from parishioners. We have so many dedicated donors to our parish ministry. Please know that all giving is used to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ at St. Philomena Parish.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the Church invites us to reflect that all God’s creatures are called to love and serve. As the world has a growing level of secularism, the Church offers this feast day as a reminder that we are not our own gods. As much as we might try, we control very little in our lives. Our gifts and talents exist for service of God and neighbor, and not the pursuit of selfish ambitions. The gospel reading from Matthew this weekend reveals aspects of the final judgment. All the nations will be assembled before Jesus. He will proceed to separate us like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Jesus makes it clear that this process of separation occurs by how well one lived the corporal works of mercy; cloth the naked, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and prisoners, and bury the dead. As we come to the close of the Liturgical Year and celebrate Thanksgiving, it is a great time to examine our participation in those human encounters that have eternal significance.

As we live under Christ our King, we soon enter into the great celebration of Advent. Advent prepares us to remember the great feast of Christmas. At Christmas, we celebrate God taking human form in the Incarnation and His choice to communicate to us in the first person. The humility of Jesus was evident from the beginning of His life in the stable, to the moment of His death on the Cross. Advent is the season for us to prepare our hearts in thanksgiving to receive the gift of God as He offers Himself freely in love. Please take the time this Advent to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. While we can never give anything to God He doesn’t possess in Himself, our willing reception of the sacrament acknowledges our thanksgiving for Jesus’ forgiving death on the Cross.

God bless,

Father David