Dear friends,<\/p>\n
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Over the years, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is a celebration of our US history, our families, 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 \u201cthank God\u201d 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 holy day, it carries connotations of our faith that we ought to live in our daily lives.<\/p>\n
The Solemnity of Christ the King marks the end of the Liturgical Cycle. Every year we begin anew with the Season of Advent. In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus says that His Kingdom does not belong to this world. As we celebrate Christ the King of the Universe, this feast invites us to reflect on all things created by God to love and serve God. 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. We are not in control of all things in our lives. Our gifts and talents exist for service of God and neighbor and not the pursuit of selfish ambitions. As we live under Christ our King, we enter into the great celebration of Advent. We spend the next few weeks preparing 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 and to attend Mass more frequently, even daily. While we can never give anything to God he doesn\u2019t possess in Himself, our willing reception of the sacraments acknowledges our thanksgiving for Jesus\u2019 sacrificial death on the Cross.<\/p>\n
As you may have noticed, the Giving Tree is in the parish center link. Thank you so much for your participation in this parish effort. This is a great way to support children and families in our community. This year we are supporting not only St. Philomena parishioners and a Catholic community in Haiti, but also parents that choose life through the Women\u2019s Care Center in Peoria. Please note the different ornaments on the trees for those you want to support. Thank you for your generosity.<\/p>\n
God bless you,<\/p>\n
Fr. David<\/p>\n
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