Dear Friends,
The Schools in Brevard County have begun their new academic session. We hold our dear children, their parents and those among us who are teachers, in prayer. May the Lord enrich them with the gift of knowledge and wisdom to observe, learn and engage in ways that might bring honor and glory to God. It is also time for us to think of enrolling our children in our Faith Formation Program which is as important, if not more, as the School Education. The school year will certainly demand a lot from the children and the parents. My request to the parents is to please consider giving at least a few hours a week for the church and faith formation. If you have not already done so, please register online for the totally revamped, renewed and reinvigorating classes all set to begin on the 15th September 2019. We would like the parents to spare a few hours to accompany your children in Godly ways that might help them weather the storms of life that we presently encounter.
At this time my heart goes out to lovely Sr. Joan Grace whose presence in our parish community was without a doubt a source of blessing and grace. Her presence as a Consecrated Sister so far had brought wholeness to our lives here at St. John the Evangelist. We will truly miss her warmth and gentle smiles and above all her presence at the Eucharistic Celebrations. Today we bid farewell to Sr. Joan Grace with aching hearts. Unlike the times when we celebrated her 50 and 60 years of Religious Life, this time around, we offer our prayers for her safe return to Limerick, Ireland, her country of origin. Sr. Joan, along with many of her community members from the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy, had faithfully served the Brevard County for the past many years. She taught at St. Mary’s School since 1962 and since retiring in 2006 has been a very gracious Catholic presence for the Rockledge and Melbourne Regional Medical Centers. She has undoubtedly touched countless number of students and patients during her life here in Brevard. The breath and depth of her influence is immense. There is no place you could visit with her without being acknowledged either by a former student or their parents, a patient who had received her blessings and prayers while at the hospital or a staff member. It seems like there is no one in the community that she has not helped.
Please join me and Fr. John Patrick in thanking her for her lovely presence, wish her a safe travel and God’s abundant blessing as she heads back to Ireland for retirement. She well deserves a time of rest and relaxation as she has never stopped working since the time she came to Brevard.
Today we celebrate the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Scripture Readings invite us to visualize the depth of love that Jesus had for us in wanting to bring us Salvation. You can almost feel in our bones the sense of urgency and immediacy of purpose Jesus felt in coming to our aid. He said: “How great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” The anguish in his heart was not one related to simply preaching or healing but that of the embracing the Cross soon enough so that our Salvation can come sooner. What a “leader and perfecter of faith” we have in Jesus! Thank you, Lord, for your immense love for us. Make us worthy of your love.
Have a Blessed Week!
Love,
Fr. John