Pastor’s Letter: April 28, 2019

Pastor’s Letter: April 28, 2019

26 Apr 2019 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

Happy Easter!  This Sunday, the 2^nd Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy celebration is at 3pm, this Sunday, April 28. We will have a Holy Hour with singing of the Divine Mercy chaplet. Several priests will be present to hear confessions and offer sacramental absolution. The message of Divine Mercy is a reminder of the depth of love in the Heart of Jesus and the invitation for us to trust in His merciful love. I hope you have the time to join us for the celebration. Please join us for adoration of the Eucharist, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the opportunity to ask the Lord for the gift of Easter forgiveness through confession.

I hope you had a blessed Easter celebration. We had truly beautiful celebrations at St. Philomena. It’s always great to see so many people come to Easter Mass. Christmas and Easter are not only pinnacle feast days of our faith, but also great opportunities to celebrate the gift of life and relationship with our loved ones. As we conclude the Octave of Easter and continue our celebration of the Easter season, I am thankful for the parish celebration of the Lenten and Easter feasts. Each year it seems to pass so quickly but each year brings a new experience of the Passion. As a liturgical people, Catholics repeat the high feasts year after year as a means of deepening our understanding and allowing God to consistently move us in the right direction.

At the Easter Vigil, 26 adults received the sacrament of confirmation. Accompanying these individuals on their faith discovery is one of the great joys of the priesthood. The Church is constantly talking about the importance of evangelizing the culture. This is something in which we all have a role. I certainly wouldn’t be a priest if I didn’t believe in the truth of the Bible and our Church tradition, guided by the Holy Spirit. The process of walking with new individuals as they discover a personal relationship with Jesus and the truth of the sacraments is a very humbling experience. At our last class on Tuesday, our new members had the opportunity to personally express aspects of their journey. Part of me wishes that the whole parish could hear the profound expressions of gratitude, wonder, forgiveness, acceptance and belonging. These dialogues are rightly ordered to be shared within the small group of the class, but please know our parish community had a great effect on these 26 Catholics. Many of them reflected not only on the discovery of truth but on the genuine expression of love of humanity at our parish. Year after year, this is consistently one of our great strengths as a community. We all keep it going by generosity, friendship, embracing truth and a true welcoming presence at church liturgy.

With the end of the school year coming soon, we will have a second collection next weekend to help families with tuition assistance. Please feel to participate, as you are comfortable. We all appreciate the support.

God bless,

Father David