{"id":3104,"date":"2020-04-24T17:04:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T22:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/?p=3104"},"modified":"2023-08-23T00:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T05:18:35","slug":"pastors-letter-april-23-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor’s Letter: April 23, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Sunday’s bulletin can be found by clicking here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

April 23, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

?<\/span>Dear friend,<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Easter! On this 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0Sunday of Easter, the Church presents the Gospel story of Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This story takes place Easter morning, the day of the Resurrection. Two disciples leave Jerusalem, for Emmaus, dejected by what happened to Jesus. As they are walking, Jesus draws near and walks with them. As the story unfolds, Jesus explains the Old Testament prophesy about the Messiah and how He fulfilled God\u2019s promises. Although they don\u2019t recognize Jesus, they are captivated by His words. At the end of the journey, Jesus enters a house with them, sits down to have a meal, and ends by breaking the bread, or celebrated the Eucharist. It is in this action of the Eucharist that the two disciples recognize Jesus, at which time He vanishes. The disciples quickly return to Jerusalem to share their encounter with Jesus to the Apostles. This a story of great transformation. It starts with people walking away from God and ends with them walking toward God. The story starts with them feeling dejected and lost, and ends with them in joy with a sense of communion with other Christians. The Resurrection is all about new life. The Easter Season is an invitation each year to enter a new life in Christ. Whether we start walking toward God instead of away from Him, or allow His words to burn within our hearts instead of worldly concerns. The Gospel and the Easter Season call us to communion with truth. While it may be more difficult to feel during these days of physical distance from the Eucharist, the spiritual truths remain the same. God calls us to new life. Let us all embrace a life of conversion that focuses on forgiveness and a renewed commitment to the Christian Life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

?<\/span>Following Governor Pritzker\u2019s announcement, Bishop Jenky announced this week that our school buildings will remain closed for this academic year. There is much sadness to this reality, but one we all understand is necessary. Our 8th<\/sup> graders, and graduates on every level of education, are most in our prayer with these cancellations. It\u2019s heartbreaking that our kids won\u2019t celebrate certain milestones they\u2019ve long-prepared for. Our school staff and administration remain focused on delivering meaningful E-Learning, acknowledging missed milestones, and preparing to return to campus in August. Please continue to pray for all decision makers to focus on what\u2019s best for our kids and families.<\/p>\n

?Thank you for all the words of encouragement, notes, prayers, or communication. It is nice to hear from parishioners about how we are all living through this physical distancing. Albert Tony, our head of maintenance, is on campus most days. He and I have lots of conversations and keep each other company at times. We are focusing on little renovations and cleanup that can be done in a cost-effective manner and benefit our campus for its reopening. I\u2019ve had people ask if I am lonely. While the quietness of the campus is a difficult adjustment, there are many business, school and ministry related items that require daily attention. I am keeping busy and longing for the day we can all pray together again. Thanks for all the thoughts and concerns. Have a great week!<\/span><\/p>\n

?<\/span>God bless you,<\/span><\/p>\n

Father David<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Sunday’s bulletin can be found by clicking here. April 23, 2020 ?Dear friend, Happy Easter! On this 3rd\u00a0Sunday of Easter, the Church presents the Gospel story of Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This story takes place Easter morning, the day of the Resurrection. Two disciples leave Jerusalem, for Emmaus, … Continue reading Pastor’s Letter: April 23, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,83,40],"tags":[59,91,99,98,58],"class_list":["post-3104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","category-father-david","category-letter-from-pastor","tag-st-philomena-school","tag-mass","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-st-philomena-church"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor's Letter: April 23, 2020 - St. Philomena Catholic Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"chadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"chadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/5e00f5f2ab9dc0c9672d91f3666e7572\"},\"headline\":\"Pastor’s Letter: April 23, 2020\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-24T22:04:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-23T05:18:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/\"},\"wordCount\":570,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/RICHARDSON-Father-David-P.-Pastor.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"St. Philomena School\",\"Mass\",\"Coronavirus\",\"COVid-19\",\"St. Philomena Church\"],\"articleSection\":[\"COVid-19\",\"Father David\",\"Pastor's Weekly Letter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.stphils.com\/church\/pastors-letter-april-23-2020\/\",\"name\":\"Pastor's Letter: April 23, 2020 - 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