Dear friends,
I thank all those who attended the Advent mission presented by Karl A. Schultz. May St. Joseph and Mother Mary continue to guide us as we journey through this beautiful season in preparation for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Karl also explained in great detail that the Beatitudes are a sure sign of Christian living, offering the wisdom of St. Pope Paul VI in making them more relatable. Here is what he said of the Beatitudes when he visited the Holy Land in 1964 in his message, “Nazareth, School of the Gospel”:
https://www.piercedhearts.org/heart_church/paul_vi/jan_05_64_nazareth_paul_vi.htm
Echoes of the Beatitudes
Now we hear its echo reverberating in the souls of men of our century. It seems to tell us: Blessed are we, if in poverty of spirit we learn to free ourselves from false confidence in material things and to place our chief desires in spiritual and religious goods, treating the poor with respect and love as brothers and living images of Christ.
Blessed are we, if, having acquired the meekness of the strong, we learn to renounce the deadly power of hate and vengeance, and have the wisdom to exalt above the fear of armed force the generosity of forgiveness, alliance in freedom and work, and conquest through goodness and peace.
Blessed are we, if we do not make egoism the guiding criterion of our life, nor pleasure its purpose, but learn rather to discover in sobriety our strength, in pain a source of redemption, in sacrifice the very summit of greatness.
Blessed are we, if we prefer to be the oppressed rather than the oppressors, and constantly hunger for the progress of justice.
Blessed are we, if for the Kingdom of God in time and beyond time we learn to pardon and to persevere, to work and to serve, to suffer and to love.
We shall never be deceived.
In such accents do We seem to hear His voice today. Then, it was stronger, sweeter, and more awe-inspiring: it was divine. But as we try to recapture some echo of the Master’s words, we seem to be won over as His disciples and to be genuinely filled with new wisdom and fresh courage.
(Taken from “The Pope Speaks”, Vol. 9 #3, 1964).
I would like to take this moment to thank Misty Huff for her many years of dedicated service to our parish family. Misty has worked for the Catholic Church since 1994. She joined St. John’s in October 2005, and since then she has been instrumental in all the development we see on our campus. We have been blessed by her 28 years of service to the Catholic Church, no doubt the backbone of our parish’s growth. She will be retiring from her position on February 3, 2023. Because she has been closely involved with the plans and execution of the grotto project, I have asked her to stay on staff in a reduced capacity until its completion. We are immensely indebted to her, and I take this occasion to thank her for all that she has been to us. We will celebrate her dedicated service to our parish with the blessing of our new grotto.
I also want to thank Dawn Hurley, Director of Religious Education, who assumed that position in January 2020. Due to family commitments and her frequent travels, she has decided to step down at the end of December 2022. I take this opportunity to thank her for her service to the Religious Education programming of our parish. She was very creative and passionate about her ministry and, along with our wonderful teams of catechists, deserves our gratitude. Thank you, Dawn, for stepping up when we needed your help.
I am pleased to announce that Shamir Patel has joined us full-time as the Office Manager, effective November 21, 2022. Shamir serves as bookkeeper, bulletin editor, and other taskings related to the functioning of the office. We welcome him wholeheartedly and thank him for his willingness to serve our parish. Welcome to you, Shamir.
We have begun this new season of Advent with hope and longing. May we not allow other preoccupations distract our focus from the coming of our Lord at Christmas, his daily coming to us in the Eucharist, and his final coming at the end of our time. To assist with keeping the focus on HIM, we ask you to reserve every Tuesday for a time of prayer at St. John’s. Beginning next Tuesday, 6 December, we will offer Advent Carols at 7 p.m. in the church. Please come and join in singing the songs of the season as we joyfully cry out, Come, Lord Jesus!
On Thursday, 8 December, we will offer three Masses (8 a.m., 12.05 p.m., and 7 p.m.) to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Patronal Feast Day of the United States and a holy day of obligation.
Congratulations are due to the Oppermanns, the recipient of the Family of the Monty award for November 2022 sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Thank you, John, Mary Ann and your lovely son John W., for all you have done for our parish and continue to do. May God richly bless you for your undying faith in Him.
This Second Sunday of Advent, the prominent Advent figure John the Baptist invites us to “produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance” (Matthew 3: 8).
Have a blessed week!
With love,
Fr. John