Pastor’s Letter & October 24 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & October 24 Bulletin

22 Oct 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The October 24 bulletin is available online.

Dear friend,

Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week, our Bishops hosted all the priests of the diocese for annual conferences. The annual Clergy Assembly Days are an opportunity for the priests to socialize, pray and receive some continuing education. Most of the 100 or so priests that attended live outside the Peoria area. As many of the priests have not seen each other over the last two years, it was a joy to gather together. We really enjoy and need the social time with each other. Our priests are spread out over the 26 counties of Illinois that are served by the Diocese of Peoria. Annual meetings are necessary, not only for continuing education, but also to support one another in ministry.

Over the two days, there were several conferences and presenters. Msgr. Eugene Morris, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, presented on challenges faced by parishes because of Covid-19 and our Church’s response to the obvious decrease in Mass attendance. Dr. Barbara Toohill and Ms. Michelle Baker discussed trends in mental health in our culture as a result of Covid-19. Not only were we challenged to think about the challenges adults and children have faced the last few years, but also to self-reflect on challenges to priestly ministry. The need for personal self care is probably an area of growth for all of us. We also received a few updates on our Priestly Vocations, Catholic Charities, Church Canon Law, and some words of challenge and encouragement from our Bishop.

Please join me in praying for our Church. Pray for our Pope, Bishops and Clergy. Let us pray for ourselves that we take seriously our lives as Catholic Christians. Let us pray that we fall more in love with God each day and this love inspires us to live authentic lives. Let us pray that we can all be thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ and His revelation of truth to the world. Hopefully this will help us increase our Mass attendance over time and give us all the opportunity to praise and worship God together. Future growth depends on clearly understanding our community’s past and what makes our St. Philomena culture unique. This weekend I will give a State of the Parish update during the Sunday Mass homily. I hope this provides some perspective and encouragement for our personal involvement in the communal life of our parish.

God bless,

Father David