Dear Friends,
We enter this Fourth Week of Easter with amazement at the apostles who, in a dramatic turn of events, are not only preaching the good news of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ but also performing countless miracles such as enabling the crippled to walk. These were the same apostles who, only weeks before, had betrayed and denied him. Today, we hear Peter boldly exclaim in Acts 4: 12, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” This is an enormously significant statement for Catholics, proclaimed in Psalm 118 that “the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” of our faith. In John 10:11, Jesus tells us categorically that he is “the good shepherd” willing to lay down his life to tend both to those who are with him and to those who have strayed from him. What a remarkable demonstration of love, and how blessed are we to be in his fold!
Have you noticed something new in the narthex? I want to draw your attention to the unique box display containing the names of those who sponsored the construction of our beautiful church. Please take a moment to open and read the general acknowledgement of THANKS to all the parishioners and friends who have helped in this mammoth undertaking, a beautiful edifice for God. You will also find the names of donors of particular items in the church, and we extend to them a huge thank you for their kind generosity, without which we could not have accomplished this task. I’d also like to THANK Toni and Ken Donovan who navigated many obstacles in the production of this display and John Moster for his ingenuity in helping to configure the beautifully-constructed wooden box.
On behalf of Fr. John Patrick, I thank all of you for your fervent prayers for his healing. For those who don’t yet know, he had a fall while running at the Viera Wetlands the morning of Holy Thursday (1 April) which resulted in a tear of his left quadricep muscle. Surgery to repair the injury was finally scheduled on Friday, 17 April and, thanks to your prayers and well-wishes, he is recovering better than expected. That being said, please continue to keep him in your prayers so that he might be able to return to us soon.
I would also ask that you keep in prayer our bright and energetic class of 62 boys and girls preparing for their First Holy Communion on Saturday, 1 May at 10 a.m.
Thank you for taking the time to pray and discern how God might be calling you to serve the parish in one of our many and varied ministries. You are amazing!
Be Blessed!
With love, Fr. John