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February 21, 2017Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Food, clothing and shelter are necessities of daily living and we must attend to them responsibly. The issue raised by Jesus in the Gospel this Sunday is to provide for these needs without making them our master. Worrying adds nothing to nothing. The Gospel reminds us that we must keep God at the center of all we do and our choices because when we do, we have our faith to see us through our trials.
Today is a special day for our parish for we will have our “I Love Potluck” supper right after the Noon Mass. Please join us with guest speaker Jerry Mouton Jr, the Mayor of Deer Park. Please bring a dish for all of us to share for this time of fellowship.
As we move through the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, and look ahead to the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1st . For Ash Wednesday here at STHY we will be offering a one Mass and three Liturgies of the Word services with ashes. Mass times will be 8:00 am; Liturgy of the Word services with ashes: 6:00 am, 12:00 Noon and 7:00 pm. These liturgies will require our entire ministry teams’ presence, so please make sure to sign up. Please continue to read the bulletin for more details.
Next 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.
My Job as Pastor is to encourage you to enter a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Next Sunday, 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 next week, 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 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.
Finally, 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.
God Bless,
Fr. Reginald Samuels