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February 28, 2017Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Lent is not a time for us to withstand temptations alone. Rather it is a time to get involved with others spiritually, and help each other to grow in goodness and the ability to resist temptation and come to a deeper relationship with Jesus. In the Gospel reading for Sunday, we all witness the temptation of Jesus in the desert. We all face our own temptations in this life, and Jesus shows us how to move beyond our temptations with the help of God. Call upon God when temptation strikes, because without God’s help, we will not be able to resist.
As we approach the first anniversary of the start of our Building Faith, Family and Future Capital Campaign Capital Campaign, I send out my sincere thanks to all who made a pledge. I truly appreciate your generosity and support. If you have not made a pledge for the campaign, Please consider making a pledge. Blue envelopes are in the Narthex along with our collection box specifically designed for our Capital campaign or you can do so online through the parish website. When you complete your pledge envelope, drop it in the collection box, offertory basket, or mail it or bring it by the office at any time. This year, we ask every family to consider an equal sacrifice, not an equal size gift. Every pledge, of every size, is most needed and welcomed. Thank you for doing your part to help us reach our goal.
This Sunday, we will celebrate the next major Rite of the Catholic Church: “Rite of Sending the Candidates for Recognition by the Bishop and for the Call to Continuing Conversion.” Or it’s almost always referred to as “Rite of Sending.” This rite is provided for parishes whose candidates seeking to complete their Christian initiation or to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church will be recognized by the bishop in a subsequent celebration. Because the Bishop is the sign of unity within the Catholic Church, it is fitting for the bishop to recognize these candidates. It is the responsibility of the parish community to prepare the candidates for their fuller life in the Church. Through the experience of worship, daily life, and service in the parish community the candidates deepen their appreciation of the Church’s tradition. This rite offers that local community the opportunity to express its joy in the candidates’ decision and to send them forth to the celebration of recognition assured of the parish’s care and support.
With the season of lent, we welcome our Friday Fish Fry sponsored by our Knights of Columbus. Those of you who have attended in the past know that this dinner is not to be missed. Every Friday during Lent, from 5-7:30 p.m., the K of Cs will be serving a a delicious fish dinner in the Parish Hall. The K of Cs serve a lot of dinners a night, and the line moves quickly so come early and bring your family and friends. You can also get your meal to go if you’d like. Be sure and thank the Knights for their hard work on the dinners. It’s a great testament to stewardship in action, so thank you brother Knights!
Also following the Lent Fish dinners, every Friday we will have Stations of the Cross in the church beginning at 7:00 p.m. I hope many of you will want to spend 30-45 minutes on Friday nights with this popular Lenten devotion. It’s a great way to spend a Friday evening and come for dinner and stay for Stations.
My Job as Pastor is to encourage you to enter a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Today, for the beginning of Lent, I want to introduce to you a book called “Resisting Happiness” by Matthew Kelly. In the past I have introduced two of Matthew Kelly’s book to the people of STHY. ‘Rediscovering Catholicism’ and ‘Discovering Jesus’ were two of his books that I have given out to the parishioners over time.
In latest book, Resisting Happiness Matthew Kelly challenges the faithful to discover how to live the life that Jesus died for us to have and how ‘resistance’ is dangerous to our relationship with God.
Kelly states in his book:
“The hardest war to win is one you don’t even realize you are fighting, and the hardest enemy to defeat is the one you don’t even know exists. Every day you are at war with resistance.”
As you leave Mass, please pick up a copy of the “Resisting Happiness” in the Narthex. (One Book per Family Please!). The book is free; however, as you are picking up your copy, feel free to make a donation to cover the cost of the book and to buy a new big screen TV for our Youth Room.
As we begin this Lenten season, I want to encourage each and everyone one of you to read Matthew Kelly’s book and ponder your own relationship with Jesus. As you are reading Kelly’s book, take time to pray our Capital campaign prayer bookmark that is included with each book.
God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels