Dear Friends,
I ask for your prayers for our country. Please implore the Holy Spirit to pour out His power for peace, civil concord, and hope at this time of shock, horror, and sadness as a result of the assassination attempt on our former president, Donald Trump, on Saturday, 13 July 2024. What happened is absolutely appalling and to be soundly condemned. We offer our prayers for his speedy recovery, for the needs of those injured, and for those who were killed. We pray for protection for everyone. We know that every life is precious and that it is our duty to safeguard every life from inception to natural death. Therefore, let us continue to pray for an end to every kind of violence everywhere and for the healing of all divisions in our land.
Congratulations to Tiffany and Anthony Moran and Tiffany’s parents, Terri and Tom Wieckowski, who were honored with the Family of the Month Award for July 2024. We are truly blessed by their faithfulness to our parish, travelling from Orlando and Merritt Island to join us in worship and to serve in our community. I thank them for all that they do to help our parish be an outstanding source of spiritual growth and good fellowship.
The Scamsters are at it again! They will never stop doing trying to get you to fall into their devilish traps. Once again, I request you to be very cautious and watchful. They have only sharpened their skills at scamming people with requests that seem very real. They are able to imitate my email, phone messages, and text messages, seeking to make you believe it is me. Please! before you take any action, call me if you have any doubts about the authenticity of a request that appears to come from me. Learn what the tell-tales are for fraudulent messages, and even if these are not present, check with me if you are not certain.
The much anticipated “10th National Eucharistic Congress” is coming to an end. It has been a huge blessing for all Catholics in the United States. Its goal has been to restore/enkindle belief in Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist and to stir up the faith of those who already believe so it bursts into flames. May this be achieved first of all in our parish.
It was heartwarming to see so many thousands gathered at the Congress on 17-21 July 2024 in Indianapolis. We pray that it truly rekindles, reaffirms and restores the proper understanding of who Jesus is and how his undying love for us is beautifully and visibly expressed through the gift of Himself in the Eucharist.
I am grateful to our own parishioners who made the sacrifice to personally attend the Congress. I am sure many of us accompanied the Congress very closely through social media as well. Obviously, this Congress is not the end of the story. All of us are now called to set out as missionaries of the Eucharist, to become the Eucharist to each and every one we meet.
On the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Scripture readings invite us to know how God looks after us. The image of the Good Shepherd is one of the most powerful images in the Scriptures in of the Father’s deep and personal care for us. This image, so beautifully portrayed in Psalm 24 and in Jesus’s parable of the shepherd and the lost sheep, has sustained the faith of people for millennia. Just as we rest in the assurance that our God in Jesus cares for us, we are called to imitate him and to be a good shepherd to all around us.
Have a Blessed Week! With love,
Fr. John