Pastor’s Letter: November 3, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: November 3, 2024

1 Nov 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Blessings and peace to you all! Thank you so much for all the well wishes and kind gifts for my birthday—it really was a joyful day! I will admit I started celebrating a little bit early this year, beginning with a beautiful day last Sunday—I did enjoy the Trunk or Treat…but I am happy to tell you I didn’t enjoy too many treats! Thanks to everyone who helped organize and participated—it really was a great event for our parish family! Several people thanked me and gave me credit for the wonderful weather…it reminded me of a time people asked me to pray for good weather. Many years ago, when I was a brand new priest, the local Knights of Columbus asked me to pray for favorable weather, since they were hosting a Special Olympics track meet the next day. Very dutifully, I went over to the church and knelt down at one of the side altars. I really prayed from the heart and ended by entrusting that intention of good weather to the intercession of St. Scholastica (remind me to say more about her next summer when we have her feast day). I went to bed thinking everything was set…I woke up the next morning to discover almost knee deep snow! I couldn’t believe it! I called the priest in the next town over to lament that the prayer wasn’t answered the way I had hoped…I concluded by saying, “I’m really not sure what happened; I really prayed from the heart.” The priest paused just a bit and then said, “Father, I can definitely tell you what happened. The children here at the school asked me to pray for a snow day!” Needless to say, if you need a priest to help with the weather, let me know and I’ll connect you with that priest!

After taking a week off last weekend for our annual pastor’s report, we are jumping back in to our tour of the Five Foundations… wrapping up this week and next by reflecting on the life and wisdom of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I regularly talk with some of our seniors who vividly remember listening to Sheen speak on the radio while they were growing up…or perhaps watching him on television for his famous show, “Life is Worth Living.” Can you imagine today a Bishop hosting a primetime television program on network TV? Not only did he do that, he also won an Emmy! Besides these media, many others have come across his wisdom through reading his many books. I remember as a seminarian reading his book, “The Priest is not His Own.” While I have many pages of notes from this great classic, one line that recently jumped out to me: “Every priest, when he goes before the Lord for judgment, will be asked, ‘Where are your children?’ The vocation of the priest is primarily to beget souls in Christ”(p.104). This passage was a great reminder of the gift of the priesthood and what it means to be a true spiritual father.

In many ways, Archbishop Sheen is a great summary of the other foundations we have been talking about. Certainly in his upbringing and in his life as a priest, he did strive to follow Jesus faithfully—to be a good disciple. Without a doubt, he was a fantastic evangelist and teacher—as much as he is known for his books and media shows, there are also many stories of how he took the time to individually meet with someone and help bring him or her to the Faith. Of course, Sheen also was a great promoter of Eucharistic devotion, especially through the daily holy hour. Over and over in his talks, he would exhort everyone to set aside this great time of prayer and unity with our Lord. Some may know that Sheen fulfilled an ordination day promise to pray a holy hour with Jesus in the Eucharist every day. It is believed he fulfilled this promise even to the last day, having died near the doorway to the chapel in his residence. Certainly his life, witness, and teaching were also great promotions of vocations—seeing the beauty in a particular pathway of life and encouraging people to trust in God in following that path.

Along the lines of living out these Foundations, Joan Sheen Cunningham (Archbishop Sheen’s niece) noted in her book, “My Uncle Fulton Sheen,” that Archbishop Sheen participated in the Second Vatican Council and was “most passionate about the mission of the Church. He wrote, ‘Nowhere in the New Testament is any mention made of a distinction between the Church and its missionary activity. The Church in its very essence is missionary. Priests are ordained for the mission of the Church. The distinction between “missionary” and “non-missionary” priests is merely geographical. Every priest and every bishop is a missionary.’ He wanted the Church to remember the command to ‘go and tell all the nations’ and to make it a top priority. He had the privilege of being the last speaker on the subject of the missions, and his heartfelt speech (which went over the allotted time, but he was not stopped or penalized for it) was well attended and met with applause at the end. His hard work paid off when the bishops voted in his favor, agreeing that ‘mission’ was the essential work of the Church” (p.101).

Archbishop Fulton Sheen, pray for us! Know of my prayers for all of you this week!

In Christ,

Father Luke