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August 4, 2019, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Dear Friends,            

The summer break is almost over. Very soon our children will have to return to school. While that might be a sad prospect for some of our kids, the parents might be over joyed to send them back to school. While speaking of back to school details, I would also want to let the parents know that we are doing a major shift in the way our Religious Ed classes are conducted. We are going to give it a new, upbeat, fun way of learning approach. More information is coming soon. We have made the Registration even more easy now. The parents don’t have to worry about paperwork and check book at all. You can Register online and even pay online. So please hurry and get your spot as it is going to be exhilarating year for the KIDS.

While we thank Steve O’Connor for his services as Grand Knight last year, we welcome a new Grand Knight in the person of Ken Mader. We offer our congratulations and felicitations to him and wish him well. 

On 28th July 2019 Gloria Lorenzo-Luaces and family was awarded the Family of the Month by our Grand Knight Ken Mader. Gloria, a single mother, is proud of her 4 beautiful girls who have grown to love the Lord and our parish. They have been part of our parish from its inception and have been actively engaged in many activities. Congratulations Gloria and family.

I am so grateful to so many of our wonderful people who are so passionate about what we do at our parish. Thank you all for supporting our projects which are primarily meant to bring you closer to God and to one another.

On the 26th July 2019 we had the 4 FUN event for the first time and it was so much fun and enjoyable one for all those who attended. We had a great band of men and women volunteers headed by Janice and Gregg Cheshire who did an amazing job of coordinating this event. We had a great pot luck dinner and dance and games. Don’t miss it next time it comes around which will be 23rd August 2019.

Dr. Sister Caroline, the Visionary from India, shared with us her experience of Heaven and of the Grace of God and of how she has been given a mission to spread the Good News of the Gospel. CCBI, The Catholic Conference of Bishops India had accorded a special recognition to her by giving her an award for New Evangelization. Thanks to those who benefited from her presentation.

During this summer some of our parishioners were also able to help with Back to School Event- 2019 for Brevard County. We helped with the Supply Zone for Teachers and in getting ready for the distribution of school supplies for the children.

Fr. John Patrick and I offer a very special thanks to all of you for supporting our Out Reach program through which we have helped several people. But this time around it is heart warming to know that we have played a huge role in helping build a home for Patricia Barber family through FAITH BUILD PARTNERS under the auspice of Habitat for Humanity. We not only helped with the funds but our amazing core team headed by Mike Hurley, Tom Tellson, Judy Permanente and Al McKenna helped in the whole process of the construction from A to Z including our adorable women team who made nutritious lunches for the workers. Thanks to all our parish volunteers who gave off their time and talent and sweat to make this dream come true for that single mother raising four children. The smile on their faces tells it all. The Home Dedication and the handing over the keys to the Barber Family was held on Saturday, July 27, 2019. The Barber family can finally call this their forever home. Go SJE!

Today we celebrate the 18th Sunday and our Scripture Readings invite us to consider what really is of vital importance. Riches, though important, are not going to be of any help in our final assessment of things. The Book of Ecclesiastes speaks of the profound question of vanity and poses this question: “For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?” (2: 21-23). The Gospel of Luke chapter 12 emphatically invites us to be rich in what matters to God.

We continue today to reflect on the Apostolic Letter of St. John Paul II on the importance of Sundays for us Catholics and how to keep it holy. He had written this lovely piece in 1998 with the title: Dies Domini. Let us set aside a little time to reflect on the following paragraphs.

Be Blessed!

With love,  

Fr. John


The Sunday obligation (Continued)

  1. Even if in the earliest times it was not judged necessary to be prescriptive, the Church has not ceased to confirm this obligation of conscience, which rises from the inner need felt so strongly by the Christians of the first centuries. It was only later, faced with the half-heartedness or negligence of some, that the Church had to make explicit the duty to attend Sunday Mass: more often than not, this was done in the form of exhortation, but at times the Church had to resort to specific canonical precepts. This was the case in a number of local Councils from the fourth century onwards (as at the Council of Elvira of 300, which speaks not of an obligation but of penalties after three absences)(78) and most especially from the sixth century onwards (as at the Council of Agde in 506).(79) These decrees of local Councils led to a universal practice, the obligatory character of which was taken as something quite normal.(80)

The Code of Canon Law of 1917 for the first time gathered this tradition into a universal law.(81) The present Code reiterates this, saying that "on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to attend Mass".(82) This legislation has normally been understood as entailing a grave obligation: this is the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,(83) and it is easy to understand why if we keep in mind how vital Sunday is for the Christian life.

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(78) Cf. Canon 21, Mansi, Conc. II, 9.

(79) Cf. Canon 47, Mansi, Conc. VIII, 332.

(80) Cf. the contrary proposition, condemned by Innocent XI in 1679, concerning the moral obligation to keep the feast-day holy: DS 2152.

(81) Canon 1248: "Festis de praecepto diebus Missa audienda est": Canon 1247, 1: "Dies festi sub praecepto in universa Ecclesia sunt...omnes et singuli dies dominici".

(82) Code of Canon Law, Canon 1247; the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 881, 1, prescribes that "the Christian faithful are bound by the obligation to participate on Sundays and feast days in the Divine Liturgy or, according to the prescriptions or legitimate customs of their own Church sui iuris, in the celebration of the divine