Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 13, 2023

Dear friends, The Third Sunday of Advent is called by the Church “Gaudete” Sunday or “Rejoice” Sunday, as it sets the tone of joyful expectation for the Lord’s birth and second coming. To mark this change in tone, the vestments worn by the priests and deacons will be rose in color. The prophet Isaiah begins the first reading (35: 1−6) with a note of joy as well: The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song … they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God … Here is your God … he comes to save you.” We rejoice this Sunday, for close at hand is our God who comes to save us. What a blessing to know that in Jesus we have a God who knows our struggles and sufferings, and he will be with us soon. Then we can sing with everlasting joy! As part of our preparation for Christmas we will host our Advent Reconciliation on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 7 p.m. Please make use of this time of grace and the presence of many priests to receive the grace of forgiveness through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What an inspiration it was to have Johnnette Williams with us. She was on fire with her presentation at the women’s conference and during all three nights of the Advent mission. I am grateful to all who could make it. A huge thanks to Anjanette Wicks who worked on securing Johnnette’s visit with us and to the core team that orchestrated the entire event. We are truly blessed to have such an amazing group of wonderful people in our parish. The next big event on the calendar is the second Day of Giving Back, when we will distribute food packets to the homebound seniors of Aging Matters. I thank Janet Jones−Owens for coordinating this event, along with her team of volunteers. This time, our task is to have 40 or so drivers who will distribute the food to a number of locations. Please sign up using the signup genius, and let us share the joy of Christ with those who are lonely and in need. Unfortunately, during this time of year, there are many scams with the sole aim of exploiting unwary givers. Please do not fall for it. I received this message from Thomas Korenstra, Director of Communications from the Congregation of Holy Cross, and I would like to share his information with you: “During the holiday season, cyber criminals noticeably ramp up efforts to phish (scam) people for personal and financial information. This message includes tips to help you guard against falling victim to their malicious methods! People are busy with travel, events, shopping, and family this time of year, and a busy person is often easier to manipulate. I encourage everyone to set up 2−Factor Authentication (2FA), also known as Multifactor Authentication (MFA), even on your personal accounts. Please review the list below! Unsolicited messages : Phishing often begins with unexpected emails, texts, calls, or even postal mail. Ask yourself : Do I recognize the sender? Is the email address correct? (e.g., support@micros0ft.com with a zero is malicious). Was I expecting this message? Legitimate customer support will not initiate contact out of the blue. Requests for personal data : Malicious actors may ask for passwords, Social Security numbers, or other sensitive details ‘to verify your identity.’ Never share this information in communications you did not initiate and never share your password with anyone. Attachments : Phishing emails often include harmful attachments. Do not open files from unsolicited senders. If you were expecting an attachment, confirm the sender and context before opening. Many phishing attempts occur when a person clicks a link for a sale or special deal. False urgency : Attackers may claim you’ll lose access unless you act immediately. Treat urgency as a red flag and verify before responding. TIPS : Hover before you click : Place your mouse over the sender’s email address or any link to reveal the true destination. Do not reply : Never respond to phishing messages. Verify coworkers : If a message from a colleague seems suspicious, call them directly to confirm. Check tone and grammar : Poor spelling, odd phrasing, or unusual mannerisms are red flags. When in doubt, verify by phone. While phishing efforts are increased during the busy holiday season, please be on guard year round.” Have a joyful Advent! With love, Fr. John

Dear friends, The first week of Advent has already passed; three short weeks until Christmas, and there is so much more to do. In the week that has just slipped by, I haven’t had time to do all that I thought I would for my own spiritual preparation. You might be thinking of things like: I thought I would spend some time in silence to pause and ponder the mystery of God coming to visit me and, yet, I didn’t make the time. I thought I would go to the Stations of the Crib on Tuesday, and I missed it. Most of us are in the same boat, but we can still do some solid things to make this Advent count. This weekend, we heartily welcome Johnette Williams, founder and president of Living His Life Abundantly® International, Inc., a Catholic evangelization apostolate with outreaches in television, radio, print, and internet communications. She is also founder of Women of Grace®, a Catholic apostolate for Christian women that features a number of outreaches including conferences, curricula, study groups, and more. She has been a consistent presence on Catholic radio since 1987 and on Catholic television since 1988. Johnette has been published in major Catholic magazines and has authored several books. What a privilege it is for us to have her share her journey of faith. Johnette will present our Advent mission on three nights beginning this Sunday through Tuesday, December 7 − 9, at 7 p.m. each evening. Please join us in preparing ourselves to reflect on the theme of our Silver Jubilee, “A Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope.” As the mission statement points out, we pray that the Holy Spirit might help us experience a new “Advent” of the Lord with burning zeal to know, love, and serve the ONE who comes to us as a helpless little Babe in the manger. While Johnette is here with us, she will also be the guest speaker at our women’s luncheon on Sunday, 7 December, at 12:30 p.m. As founder of Women of Grace, it is fitting that she is able to meet with our women and help us PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. We will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, 8 December, a holy day of obligation and the patronal feast day of the United States of America. We will be offering three Masses: 8 a.m., 12:05 p.m., and 6 p.m. Since the beginning of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been regarded as the holiest and most blessed of all disciples. Celebration of the Immaculate Conception began in the 7th century under the title, “Conception of Mary by Saint Anne” and was changed to “Immaculate Conception” with the definition of the doctrine in 1854. We celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent with the appearance of some of the most significant people who were blessed with the Advent spirit. The prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist, the desert preacher, lived their lives with such joyful anticipation for the coming of the Savior of the world. They knew deep down in their hearts that the world as they knew it was not how God intended it to be; hence, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to believe and profess that a Messiah would come from above to offer a vision totally different from the one they lived. We, too, live in times where things are far from how God wants them to be. How our hearts long to live in a world where every human being is respected, where the sounds of gunfire and exploding bombs would be heard no more, paving the way for peace, where the riches and wealth of the nations would ensure elimination of poverty and hunger in the world, where one would not fear another because of race, nation, or ethnicity, where we would be free to walk our streets or gather in churches or market places without fear of being harassed or attacked. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a shoot sprouting from the stump … can we be the fruits of the new shoot with dreams of a just and peaceful world characterized by deep and lasting tranquility? We know God’s vision for us because He sent His only Son to live among us. Let us, therefore, commit to living the spirit of Advent with a certain hope and longing — that if all of humanity were to come together to work toward building a world of justice and peace as anticipated by the prophet Isaiah, urged by John the Baptist, and lived by Jesus our Savior, it would be possible to transform the world. In his letter to the Romans, Paul offers two suggestions that might help us live in harmony and unity: endurance (to willfully choose to remain faithful to Christ) and seeking encouragement of the Scriptures. May we heed the clarion call of John the Baptist to repent and transform our lives to meet the Lord who is close at hand. This Advent season, may we gently fan the glowing embers of his presence among us until they start to flame. Have an adventurous Advent! With love, Fr. John

Dear friends, Believe it or not, the season of Advent is here. This weekend, we begin a new liturgical year, cycle A, on this First Sunday of Advent. During the season of Advent, the liturgical theme and tone change to one of waiting. There is a call for silence, a call for prayer, a call for preparation, a call for patience, a call for anticipation, a call for revived hope, a call for emptying ourselves of all that does not satisfy and making room for that which will, a call for faith in the one for whom we wait, and a call for penance and repentance, as the one for whom we wait is our Lord and Savior. We can do all of these if we simply trust that we do them for the sake of opening ourselves ever more to the mystery of the Incarnation. Incarnation is simply the celebration of a love that comes to us, seeking us as though we were the only human beings ever to exist. Therefore, it is fitting for us to consider Advent as a time of cleaning house in preparation for receiving a very special guest. In her hymn, “People, Look East,” Eleanor Farjeon offers: People, look east. The time is near Of the crowning of the year. Make your house fair as you are able, Trim the hearth and set the table. People, look east and sing today: Love, the guest, is on the way. The only downside to the season of Advent is that it is very short−lived. The season runs for four weeks, and sometimes the last (4th) is the shortest. Typically during this season, we do not experience much waiting for, in reality, it is the busiest time of year. There is a lot of shopping, end of the school semester, lots of anticipated Christmas parties and festivities, etc., all of which rob the season of its real intent and purpose. The question, as always, is, “How do we intend to spend these days of preparing for the birth of our Lord in a spiritual sense?” The challenge is to find the right and healthy balance between our social life and the spiritual life. The Church, through its liturgies and Scripture readings, will help us enter into this season of joyful anticipation with purpose and intention. There are a variety of things we can do to keep the tradition of Advent meaningful, such as using an Advent calendar, preparing an Advent wreath with candles, working on a Jesse Tree and, of course, getting ready the Nativity scene. All of these should be done with prayerful consideration of this season of anticipation. To begin this year’s Advent journey, let us consider dedicating a corner in your living room where you can decorate with an Advent wreath and candles and try to make time to pray together as a family using songs such as, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” May your Advent enrich your experience of joyful and hopeful anticipation of the birth of our Lord. Happy Advent! On this First Sunday of Advent, we will be celebrating the Rite of Entrance into the Catechumenate and welcoming the candidates preparing to become Catholic at the Easter Vigil. We are blessed with many brothers and sisters who have joined the OCIA. Let us walk with them and pray for them during these next several months. In an article titled, “New Yorkers turning to the church, number of Catholic converts soaring,” Kirsten Fleming has reflected on a surge of conversion to Catholicism. In her article, she notes: ““There’s a lot of turmoil right now, and I’m in transition, so I feel like I needed something to lean on,” said 22−year−old East Village resident Ian Burns who was baptized in the Episcopal church and stopped attending services because hoops took up his time.” Why Catholicism? “It’s the original religion of Christianity, and I wanted to get to the root of it rather than branches.” Congratulations are in place for the recipients of the Family of the Month for November, Mirian and Richard Krassowsky. These are amazing people who give selflessly of themselves to our parish. Mirian is an usher, and Richard is both an usher and part of our media ministry. A retired electrical engineer, Richard has also spent countless hours fixing our many electrical issues. We are grateful to them both. At the start of this new liturgical year, I am pleased to welcome and introduce to you Deacon Steven Prebeck and his wife Sandy! Steven and Sandy were married 43 years ago in 1982. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1979 with a degree in Aviation/Meteorology, Deacon Steven spent 26 years in the US Air Force. After retiring, they settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado where Steven was ordained a Deacon in 2020 for the Diocese of Colorado Springs. They moved to Viera in February of 2025, and I am so happy that they are here with us to serve our parish community. A hearty welcome to you, Deacon Steven and Sandy. Catholic Giving Tuesday: One of the blessings of this season of Thanksgiving is the spirit of giving. This is yet another time of the year when we are reminded of our call to serve others. This Catholic Giving Tuesday, 2 December, we invite you to support our parish in making a difference in our faith community. Your generous gift will allow us to maintain and expand our good works now and into the future. Please visit our website at https:// www.stjohnviera.org. As always, With Love, Fr. John

Dear friends, Last weekend, I was reflecting with you about how the month of November lends itself toward the end of another calendar year, and so it is with the Church’s liturgical year and the readings that foretell the end of time. This weekend marks the last Sunday of the liturgical year with the celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. The USCCB has put out an explanation that I thought might help us to understand why this focus is on Christ the King: “Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas (“In the first”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism. He recognized that attempting to “thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law” out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations. This solemnity reminds us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever. During the early twentieth century, in Mexico, Russia, and some parts of Europe, militantly secularistic regimes threatened not just the Catholic Church and its faithful but civilization itself. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics hope and—while governments around them crumbled—the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever. Jesus Christ “is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind” (Quas primas, 7). Christ’s kingship is rooted in the Church’s teaching on the Incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is both the divine Lord and the man who suffered and died on the Cross. One person of the Trinity unites himself to human nature and reigns over all creation as the Incarnate Son of God. “From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures” (Quasprimas, 13). The Church calls us to acknowledge Christ’s kingship with our whole lives: He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘as instruments of justice unto God.’ −Quas primas, 33 Today, religious freedom for many people means that we can believe whatever we want in private, but when we enter the public square or the marketplace, we may not speak of anything that relates to our faith. However, the Church acknowledges the reign of Christ, not only privately, but publicly. This solemnity encourages us the celebrate and live out our faith in public. “Thus by sermons preached at meetings and in churches, by public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed and by solemn processions, men unite in paying homage to Christ, whom God has given them for their King” (Quas primas, 26). For Christians, when our faith is repeatedly marginalized in public life, we can fall into the habit of compartmentalizing our lives. We love Jesus in our private lives, but we shrink from acknowledging the kingship of Christ in social life. When we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, we declare to the world and remind ourselves that Jesus is the Lord of the Church and of the entire universe.” One special person who honored Christ as her King and Lord is St. Cecilia whose feast we celebrate on 22 November every year. When she was threatened with death if she didn’t marry the prefect’s son, she responded saying, “Do you not know that I am the bride of my Lord Jesus Christ?” We pause this weekend to THANK Heidi, our Music Director, and all the musicians, cantors, and choir members who lend their talents in helping us raise our minds and hearts to God the Father, author of all the talents and gifts we have received. As we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving later this week, I want to make sure that you know how grateful I am to you for being a very faithful, joyful, welcoming, and generous community. On behalf of Fr. Martin, the deacons, and the staff, I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  As we continue to celebrate God’s mercy to us all these past 25 years, I want to join you all in THANKING GOD for HIS faithfulness. May our collective voices continue to cry out to the world: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be His own. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving! With love, Fr. John

Dear friends, Having celebrated the special feast days of the Commemoration of All Souls on 2 November and the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica on 9 November, we passed over the 31st and 32nd Sundays. This Sunday, we are back on track with the 33rd Sunday in Year C, the penultimate Sunday in the liturgical calendar, the Sunday before the final Sunday of the liturgical year. Rightly so, the readings from the Scriptures reflect on the end of time. The first reading from the prophet Malachi, last of the prophets from the Old Testament and also the last book of the Old Testament, identifies Israel’s sinful ways and exhorts them to reform and, in turn reap the harvest that results from remaining faithful to the Lord. The proud and evildoers will meet their fate on the day of the Lord, while the righteous ones who persevere will live to see the day of the Lord. Today’s gospel reading tells of the last days of Jesus’ ministry, concluding with his prediction about the persecution of his followers. Luke 21: 5−19 invites us to persevere in days of persecution and give witness to our faith: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” During this Silver Jubilee year, as we give thanks to God for the many blessings showered upon us during these 25 years, we also thank God for using us as a channel of blessings for others, especially to those most in need. As part of our “Days of Giving Back,” we will be serving hot meals to guests at Matthew’s Hope in Cocoa, FL. Our team of volunteers will be getting things ready on Monday, 17 November and then serving on Tuesday, 18 November. I thank you for your donations in support of this endeavor. Thanks to Janet Owen, her Feed my Flock ministry members, and all who have signed up to prepare the food, deliver, and serve. Your generosity and kindness are deeply appreciated. We would like to make this jubilee year a true blessing for everyone. This weekend, we will have the opportunity to help support the efforts of the Catholic Charities of Central Florida in serving thousands of people throughout our diocese, including our own Brevard County. Our support of this collection is critical to their ability to respond to the ever−increasing needs of our families. I thank you in advance for your kind support. There will be two collections this weekend, and your generosity in the second will remind us all that “Every family we help is one less family in need.” In this year of our Silver Jubilee, let us renew our commitment to keeping God as our one and only Master, binding us as people chosen by the Lord, a people on a mission to transform lives through devotion to the Eucharist and love of neighbor. Let us shine courageously and cheerfully, embodying hope and deep love for both ourselves and our communities. May ours truly be a “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope!” Have a blessed weekend! With love, Fr. John

Dear friends, You did it again … our fall harvest food drive to support local farmworkers exceeded expectations. I am grateful to Lulu and Tim Farrell and their team for coordinating this annual event. Lulu writes: “We are deeply grateful for the generosity and service we received to ensure we could deliver more food than ever to the Farmworkers Association of Florida. Maria, leader of the farmworkers in Fellsmere, was overwhelmed with the amount of food we delivered which was twice as much as last year.” The food was delivered on Sunday, and I thank you all for your bountiful generosity. We have received donations of electric wheelchairs that will be available for those in our parish to use as needed. We also have wheelchairs and walkers. Contact the office for assistance. During the month of November, please continue to pray for the deceased members of our families and of our parish community, also for those orphaned souls who have no one to pray for them. Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote: “As we enter Heaven, we will see them, so many of them, coming towards us and thanking us. We will ask who they are, and they will say ‘a poor soul you prayed for in Purgatory." This weekend, 9 November, we do not celebrate the 32nd Sunday as should be but, rather, the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Hence, we will have special readings that focus on the concept of the temple and the vital role it plays in our liturgical life. Just as we celebrate with joy the anniversary of the dedication of our parish church on 20 January, so also does every diocese throughout the world celebrate as a local feast day the dedication of its cathedral as its “spiritual headquarters.” The Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome holds a special place in the history of the Church. It was dedicated by Pope Sylvester I in the year 324. When centuries of persecutions ended with Constantine’s 313 edict granting Christians the right to publicly practice their faith, St. John Lateran became the first basilica where Christians were allowed to worship freely in public. It is the oldest church in the West, and the episcopal seat of the pope as bishop of Rome, although many of us erroneously presume that to be St. Peter’s Basilica. As such, this basilica represents the unity of the Church under the leadership of the pope. I have had the privilege of visiting St. John the Lateran when on pilgrimage there with a group from our parish. The basilica has been a place of special significance throughout its long history, having hosted five ecumenical councils. The Baldacchino over the main altar is said to contain relics of the apostles Peter and Paul. The nave of the church is lined with exquisite marble statues of the apostles, all crafted by the Italian master Bernini. We will have the privilege of visiting it in March 2026 when on again pilgrimage to Italy. This day also invites us to ask some very serious questions. What does our church mean to us? Is it just a building, merely a gathering place? Do we recognize it as a place where God dwells so intimately? Do we recognize Jesus present in the tabernacle? Do we recognize that the church is a holy place where prayers and sacrifices are continuously being offered? What is our attitude when we enter our church? Do we treat it as a place of prayer? Are we mindful of other people praying, desiring quiet time to pray? Have you ever spent 15 minutes or so in silent prayer, resting yourself in the presence of the Almighty? Can you hear Jesus’ passionate plea to keep his Father’s house sacred? Are you filled with the zeal of Jesus in keeping the house of God a sacred place of worship and prayer? There is tension over this in our parish. Unfortunately, some of us treat this sacred space as a gathering place to visit with others and catch up with friends. Others feel it should be like a monastery with total silence at all times. When we gather for Eucharistic celebrations, we should all be mindful of how we conduct ourselves living−beings gathering for prayer and worship with the utmost reverence for God’s presence among us. I request that we be gentle with each another, respecting our collective worship as a community of believers in this sacred space. In this year of our Silver Jubilee, let us renew our commitment to keeping God as our one and only Master, binding us as people chosen by the Lord, a people on a mission to transform lives through devotion to the Eucharist and love of neighbor. Let us shine courageously and cheerfully, embodying hope and deep love for both ourselves and our communities. May ours truly be a “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope!” Have a blessed weekend! With love, Fr. John

Dear friends, It was wonderful to have so many of your friends, neighbors, and relatives join us for the “Each−One Bring−One” to Mass Silver Jubilee special event last weekend. That person or family came because you invited them. You have brought many blessings not only to them but also to us, the SJE family. I have heard so many stories of people who are now true worshipers of the Lord because one person thought of offering that special invitation: Would you like to join us for Mass at our church? You did your part by inviting them; let us now confidently leave the rest to the Lord to do His will. I would like to thank Indroutie Jones and Jennifer Fine for coordinating this wonderful event. We were blessed to have Alan Ames visit us again and to see so many people come from far and near to be healed. I thank Fran and Peter Behrens for making his visit possible, and I invite all of you to take part in the many other events that have been organized for our parish family. What a blessing during this year of Silver Jubilee to receive so many graces. Congratulations to Nancy Fitzpatrick, recipient of the Family of the Month award for October 2026. Thank you, Nancy, for all you do for our community. I heartily welcome Fr. Paul Kollman, C.S.C., here with us this weekend as part of the Hesburgh Lecture Series hosted by the Notre Dame Space Coast Club. Fr. Paul is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and his presentation will be on the topic: The Global Future of the Catholic Church. Thanks to the ND Club for hosting this event. This Sunday is the 2nd of November, and we observe the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day). Following the Feast of All Saints, this celebration of praying for the dead is significant in the life of the Church. There is an intrinsic connection between us and those who have gone before us in faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in 954 speaks of three states of the Church: “When the Lord comes in glory, and all His angels with Him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to Him. But at the present time some of His disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating in full light, God Himself triune and one, exactly as He is. These three states are known as the Church Militant, the Church Penitent, and the Church Triumphant and comprise the communion of saints that we profess in the Creed. The Church Militant is all of us who are on our earthly journey, fighting “the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7) as soldiers for Christ clad in the “armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10−18) as we engage in spiritual warfare with the forces of evil that seek to turn us to sin and away from Christ and His Church. The Church Penitent refers to all the souls in purgatory who have completed their pilgrimage on earth but have yet to reach their final destination in heaven. Also called the Church Expectant, these souls rely greatly on the prayers of the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant to see them through their process of repentance and purification. The Church Triumphant is the saints in heaven who have “finished the race, kept the faith” and won the “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7−8). They now bask in the glory of the fullness of the presence of the Holy Trinity for eternity in heaven. “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us … so by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped” (CCC 956). In this year of our Silver Jubilee, let us renew our commitment to keeping God as our one and only Master, binding us as people chosen by the Lord, a people on a mission to transform lives through devotion to the Eucharist and love of neighbor. Let us shine courageously and cheerfully, embodying hope and deep love for both ourselves and our communities. May ours truly be a “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope!” Have a blessed weekend! With Love, Fr. John

Dear friends, I extend a very hearty welcome to our guests who have come to worship with us today as part of our “Each One, Bring One” effort. You are here because someone thought of you as a very special friend. Thank you for joining us and for honoring the person who invited you. Our doors are always open! Please join us in worship of our Lord Jesus during Eucharistic celebrations or come simply to pray and find some peace, perhaps in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes which has proven to be an oasis of peace. Thank you, again, from the bottom of my heart for your presence with us. I am deeply honored to welcome Sr. Joan Grace who is visiting us from Ireland. She taught for several years at St. Mary’s School in Rockledge and then served as chaplain of the Wuesthoff Hospital in Rockledge for many years before retiring to Ireland. She has indeed touched the hearts of so many people during the course of her 70 years of service in our area. She is truly a woman of faith in action. I am extremely grateful to Anjanette Wicks and Roma Zimmerman for coordinating the Jubilee Gala. Their efforts — along with those of so many others — made for a memorable evening. One of the highlights of the event was a cake made by Maria and Jackie Panellas in imitation of our Grotto. Moved by the beauty of the cake, I asked not to cut it but, rather, to share its beauty and depth of detail with all parishioners during the Sunday Masses. Last week, we celebrated World Mission Sunday and reflected on how we are all invited to focus on mission work around the world and to support their efforts both financially and through prayer for those less fortunate. We were privileged to hear from Raquel Cespédes, Director of Missions for the Diocese of Orlando, about our sister diocese in the Dominican Republic and how our financial support has had a definitive impact on their lives. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, I thought about rafling off the cake, and one generous parishioner offered $3000 for it in support of the people of our sister diocese. God truly works in mysterious ways! Trunk−or−Treat this year had a unique Silver Jubilee flavor with a different location and so many activities. The children had a great time walking by 65 trunks, treating themselves to pounds of treats that will last them at least a year. The children had an amazing time with roasting marshmallows by the fire, story−time with the saints, bounce houses, games, crafts, and goodies galore. Thanks to all who shared their decorated trunks. I am immensely grateful to Justin and Amanda Libak for orchestrating the entire event and to all who donated treats and their time to make this event possible for the children of our parish. Please don’t forget to keep praying the Rosary during the month of October and making it a daily “habit” for the rest of your lives. The number of creative activities provided to engage us in praying the Rosary in our parish has been astounding. Our beautiful Grotto is always there to provide the perfect ambience for prayer. Fr. Patrick Peyton, a Holy Cross priest, always invited families to pray the Rosary together every day, encouraging them with the words that a “family that prays together stays together.” This rings truer now more than ever. As we end the month of October, I would like to offer a Mass at the Grotto on Thursday, 30 October, at 6 p.m., followed by the Rosary. On the 31st, Alan Ames from Australia will be with us for an evening Mass and healing service. Alan is a Catholic visionary, mystic, and celebrated author. Please come and benefit from this amazing opportunity for healing. This 30th Sunday in Year C offers beautiful Scriptural passages centered around our dispositions to God, others, and the nature of our prayers. The Book of Sirach comes from the Deuterocanonical section and is a collection of writings from Israel’s wisdom tradition. In this first reading, we see how God is portrayed as a God who inclines his ear to the cry of the poor. It says, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds, it does not rest till it reaches its goal.” The Gospel of Luke further demonstrates this aspect in presenting the disposition of two very different people who go to pray: one is a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee has an attitude rooted in comparison and contrast. His prayer indicates self−righteousness, that he needs nothing from God, and judgement of others. The prayer of the tax collector, on the other hand, is one of humility. He does not even dare to lift his eyes to heavens. His demeanor indicates that he is sinful and stands in need of God’s mercy. The humble man’s prayer certainly pierces heaven, and his prayers are heard. This passage is unique to Luke and teaches us profound lessons. What is our attitude when go to pray? Are you full of yourself leaving no room for God to fill you with His love? Or are you, in humility, able to bare your empty heart so that God can fill it with His love? In this year of our Silver Jubilee, let us renew our commitment to keeping God as our one and only Master, binding us as people chosen by the Lord, a people on a mission to transform lives through devotion to the Eucharist and love of neighbor. Let us shine courageously and cheerfully, embodying hope and deep love for both ourselves and our communities. May ours truly be a “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope!” Have a blessed weekend! With Love, Fr. John

Dear friends, Venerable Patrick Peyton, C.S.C, founder of Holy Cross Family Ministries and known the world over as “The Rosary Priest,” believed that praying the Rosary can bring peace to the world: “The Rosary has saved the world in the past; it will save the world again by saving the family.” During the month of October, we are honoring our Mother here each evening at 6 p.m. with the Rosary at the grotto. I invite you to stop by and join us. SJE Rosary Fitness will begin on Tuesday, 21 October, at 6 p.m. in the parish hall. Men and women aged 16 and up are welcome. Please bring your exercise mat and a set of light weights (optional). Thanks to Janet Fovargue, GFI, CPT, SFC, who has offered to lead this opportunity to pray while working out together. In addition, the WINGS ministry is hosting a Rosary Walk on Wednesday, 22 October. All women are invited to meet by the Pieta statue at 6 p.m. for a walk to the Viera Regional Park (approximately 3 miles round trip) while praying the Rosary together. We are invited to join Holy Cross Family Ministries at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 October, the Feast of Saint Pope John Paul II, for their second annual worldwide rally for peace, bringing countries together to pray the Rosary as one. This powerful event will truly be a global effort for peace in our own hearts, in our families, throughout our countries, and across the world. All Holy Cross Family Ministry centers across five continents and in 18 countries will lead us to pray in unison as a single, human family, creating a global experience of simultaneous, unified prayer. Fr. Patrick Peyton’s memorable statement still rings true today: “A World at Prayer is a World at Peace.” Please visit HCFM.org to tune into this event. On 19 October, we celebrate World Mission Sunday, an opportunity to pray for the mission of evangelization around the world. Pope Leo, in his video message to every parish in the world, said this: Dear Brothers and Sisters, On World Mission Sunday every year, the whole Church prays, united, particularly for missionaries and the fruitfulness of their apostolic labors. When I served as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru, I saw first−hand how the faith, the prayer and the generosity shown on World Mission Sunday can transform entire communities. I urge every Catholic parish in the world to take part in World Mission Sunday. Your prayers, your support will help spread the Gospel, provide for pastoral and catechetical programs, help to build new churches, and care for the health and educational needs of our brothers and sisters in mission territories. This October 19th, as we refiect together on our baptismal call to be "missionaries of hope among the peoples," let us commit ourselves anew to the sweet and joyful task of bringing Christ Jesus our Hope to the ends of the earth. Thank you for everything you will do to help me help missionaries throughout the world. God bless you all! Our diocese has been helping our sister diocese in San Juan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic for the past three decades. We welcome Raquel Cespédes who is in charge of the mission there to speak to us about the powerful impact of our generous assistance in the lives of the people of that region. Thank you for your contributions to the mission of the Church worldwide. On this 29th Sunday in Year C, we are treated to Scripture readings which emphasize the importance of prayer , the key theme being that of persistence . I wish to thank Ismael Munoz for his gracious assistance as bookkeeper for four months when we needed him most. He and his wife Nina are people of amazing faith, and we are blessed to have them in our parish family. Our new bookkeeper, Shannon Coffman, joined the staff on 13 October. She is a native Floridian from the Titusville area with over 30 years of accounting experience. Shannon and her husband Marty have two grown children, and we extend a warm welcome to them all.  In this year of our Silver Jubilee, let us renew our commitment to keeping God as our one and only Master, binding us as people chosen by the Lord, a people on a mission to transform lives through devotion to the Eucharist and love of neighbor. May ours truly be a “Journey of Grace, Faith, and Hope!” Have a blessed weekend! With love, Fr. John