Dear Friends,
Praise God, the Election is over. Thank you for voting to defeat Amendment 4 which, had it succeeded, would have been the cause of countless numbers of infants losing their lives. Despite being happy at the defeat of this amendment, I am also deeply saddened by the fact that 57% of Florida residents believe that is it ok to kill babies in the womb. This goes against the grain of what we believe life to be. We still have miles to go before everyone feels disturbed by the thought of aborting a baby.
Please understand that what I have said in no way amounts to saying we do not value the life of a mother in danger. We have to do all in our power to save lives. Our focus should be on finding ways to protect everyone’s life. In this context, I would like you to read the statement released by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the defeat of Amendment 4:
We are profoundly relieved at the defeat of Florida’s pro-abortion Amendment 4. This is a positive outcome for Florida and all efforts to promote the flourishing of our state.
Though Amendment 4 failed to reach the 60% threshold required to pass, a majority of Floridians voting in the general election supported it. While significant gains to protect women and preborn children in recent years will remain in place, abortion in Florida will continue at a very high rate under our current laws.
Much work remains to open hearts and minds to the dignity and goodness of life in the womb and at every stage. We will continue to proclaim in our churches and in the public square the value of every human life and to highlight that there is a better way forward for women, families and society than abortion. Through our many ministries, we will continue to support, encourage and assist pregnant women and young families. For those who regret their abortion or abortions, or their cooperation in one, we reiterate that the Lord is eager to forgive, and the Church is ready to facilitate healing.
We express our gratitude to all those who worked against Amendment 4, giving of their time, talent and resources. Those efforts were clearly fruitful in this election and will reverberate to the good for generations to come.
God bless the people of Florida.
I have recently spoken about two new ministries to be launched at St. John’s. One of these is GEN HOPE, a ministry that will gather our college-level young people together on Sundays between 7.30 – 9 p.m. in Room 5 of the Parish Life Center where they will pray, share reflections, and grow in their faith. The first meeting is this Sunday, 10 November 2024. You can follow this group on Instagram and Facebook at SJE GEN Hope. I cordially invite our young people in the age group of 18 to 22 or so to come and flourish in our Catholic Faith.
As we celebrate our Veterans on Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2024, we wholeheartedly thank YOU for YOUR service to our Nation. Your unrelenting love for our country and your selfless sacrifice have given safety to our citizens and promoted peace around the globe. At St. John’s, we are blessed to have many veterans— both those who have retired and those still serving – and for a long time I have been thinking about a way to bring our veterans together. The time has finally come. This upcoming Veteran’s Day, we will launch our new Veteran’s ministry under the name SJE4VETERANS. Thanks to Sean Edwards and Joann Molina and Tim and Lulu Ferrell for accepting my request to coordinate this ministry.
I personally extend a warm invitation to our Veterans to join me and our SJE4VETERANS team on Monday, 11November at 5:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall. We will begin with a meet and greet over some snacks. Please come and let us celebrate your dedication to our nation and allow our team and I to present our many ideas for reaching out to and serving our veterans. Your feedback will hugely help us to determine what direction this ministry will take.
Congratulations to Kathy and John Drake, who are the recipients of the October 2024 Family of the Month award, which was given at the 9 a.m. Mass on Sunday, 27 October 2024. I am grateful for their love and dedication to our parish, especially to the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Children’s Mass Ministry. Thank you, Kathy and John, for all you do for us!
God really loves a cheerful and generous giver. Most of you have been wonderfully cheerful and unstinting in your support of our parish and all our outreach efforts. This Sunday, the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, offers an opportunity to reflect on how we give. Just like the widow of Zarephath, who gave all she had to feed the hungry prophet Elijah, the poor widow in Mark’s Gospel (12: 38-44) gives cheerfully all that she has to the Temple treasury and in doing so inspires Jesus’ admiration.
Without the generous hearts whose giving keeps our parish healthy, we could not hold things together here. Yet, this generosity does not seem able to extend to the wonderful work done here and throughout the diocese by Our Catholic Appeal with only 39% of participation. I remain immensely grateful to those whose generosity allowed us to contribute at the level expected of a flourishing parish of this size.
Be Blessed. With Love,
Fr. John