Dear friend,<\/p>\n
In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus says, \u201cThe Children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.\u00a0 They can no longer die, for they are like angels.\u201d These words are a response from Jesus about the state of one\u2019s afterlife. A few weeks ago, I wrote about God having no favorites. We are all equal in God\u2019s eyes. This quote of Jesus communicates that we will have no favorites in heaven. \u201cWe are like angels,\u201d meaning we will love like the angels. We will not become angels, but upon entrance into heaven, we will not have favorites in the kingdom of heaven. Of course, we believe that we will know our loved ones in heaven, however, we will not love our earthly family members \u201cmore\u201d or \u201cbetter\u201d than we love everyone else in heaven. This divine perspective on the kingdom of heaven gives us a challenge to love others on earth like we are already in heaven. This is a great challenge; but, one that invites us to imagine what authentic, other-directed love looks and feels like. The command to love God and love neighbor on earth helps prepare the soul to enter heaven. We all are on a heavenly preparatory program. May we all see our goal as heaven, that every day brings us one step closer.<\/p>\n
Saturday, November 9 is our annual school auction. The theme this year is Wonderland. The auction begins after the 4:30pm Mass as our school and church community comes together to host the auction that benefits our school. The auction began as a way to help raise funds to increase teacher salaries. This continues to be the main funding purpose for the auction. Auction monies to our PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization) also help with the day-to-day operation of the school. The church Sunday collection does subsidize part of the school. The more successful the auction, the less demand on the church income and also the more opportunity we have to keep growing our curriculum. Over the years, the PTO auction has helped us push forward with renovations and the implementation of new curriculum and technology. When all the parts of the system are working well together, it makes for a strong St. Philomena School. A few years ago, the auction fund-raised for our bathroom renovations. This was a huge help to our completing the renovation. This year we are raising funds to replace a slide on the playground and help improve our play environments. Every dollar we raise at the auction helps us continue the operation of our great school. Our school enrollment continues to show the strength of our parish community and the excellence of education. Thank you to everyone who donates, volunteers, or supports the Wonderland auction. Not every parish hosts a fun and successful fund raiser as our PTO organizes. The auction is one more example of why our community is a blessing to us all.<\/p>\n
God bless,<\/p>\n
Father David<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"