Dear friends,
Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. With this celebration, we come to the end of liturgical Year C and the grand finale of acknowledging Christ as our Lord and King. In his letter to the Colossians (1:18), St. Paul says of Jesus, “He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. “ Luke’s description of the passion narrative draws our attention to the inscription on his cross: “This is the King of the Jews” (John 23: 38). Jesus is anointed king on the wood of his cross, the ultimate paradox, one of defeat yet final victory. May our prayer be like that of the good thief in Luke 23: 42: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Next weekend, we begin the Year of Grace 2023 with the First Sunday of Advent. This liturgical year, we will follow the Sunday Lectionary Cycle Year A and Cycle I for the weekday cycle.
Also on that weekend, we will be reflecting on the many ways that Catholic Charities reaches out to people in need. Because of your continued generosity, they are able to serve people from all walks of life and in all manner of circumstance. We will have a collection to help in their ministry.
It was truly a blessing to see so many of you sign up for FORMED.org and the free Amen app, two online resources that greatly enrich our Catholic faith. For the past three years, our parish has subscribed to FORMED.org, a premier online platform filled with over 4,000 Catholic studies, movies, audio dramas, talks, e-books, and even cartoons for our children. All you need to do is sign up and start watching. Last Sunday, we asked you to bring your cell phones to Mass to assist with the process, and during the “reverse collection” during all Masses, postcards will guide you in signing up for the programs. In addition, our teens and “computer geeks” will be available to help you download the apps. My hope is that the content on FORMED will enrich, deepen, and inspire your faith.
This week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, and it always triggers in us a need to acknowledge that all that we are and all that we have come from God. Thanks to this delightful tradition, we can take a day off from our busy schedules to do just that. This year, St. John’s is hosting “United in Thanksgiving,” an interfaith celebration of gratitude, on Monday, November 21, 2022 at 7 p.m. Following the service, there will be foods served from diverse family and faith traditions.
For our worship during these Thanksgiving festivities, we will celebrate with a Vigil Mass on Wednesday (23 November) at 7 p.m. and another Mass on Thursday (24 November) at 10 a.m. May God delight in our hymns and prayers of gratitude. On behalf of Fr. Vincent, the deacons, and the staff, I wish each one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Advent will begin on the weekend of 26/27 November 2022, and we will begin the season with our Advent Mission. Karl A. Schultz, an author and international lecturer, will present the reflections. Please mark your calendars for the following three evenings at 7 p.m.: Monday, 28 November, Tuesday, 29 November, and Wednesday, 30 November. Karl will reflect with us on the theme, “To Joseph and Jesus through Matthew: God with Us at Advent.” Karl’s presentation will focus on the following themes:
Talk 1 – St. Joseph: Matthew’s Model of Identity, Discipleship, Masculinity, and Reconciliation
Talk 2 – The Beatitudes at Advent: The Bible’s Joyful Counter-Cultural Congratulations
Talk 3 – Matthew’s Timely Message: Real Presence, Prayer, Parables of Life and Death, and Passion Please come and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior in a fitting and worthy manner.
Have a blessed week!
With love,
Fr. John