Dear friends,
I wish to give thanks to our loving God, Bishop John Noonan, and YOU, our amazing community of faith, for the lovely celebration we shared on Sunday, November 6th. The completed works of phase 1 of God’s Heart Our Dream 2.0 were blessed by the bishop, and ground was officially “broken” for phase 2, the grotto project. Thank you all for your continued support and generosity.
We have been enormously blessed to be living in these days and times when so many resources are readily available for enriching our Catholic faith. Thanks be to God for enabling human minds to be so creative, literally placing access in the palms of our hands. For the past three years, our parish has subscribed to FORMED.org, a premier on-line platform filled with over 4,000 Catholic studies, movies, audio dramas, talks, e-books, and even cartoons for our children. What you may not know, it’s free for every parishioner at St. John the Evangelist! All you need to do is sign up and start watching.
This weekend, we are presenting a renewed appeal to all of our parishioners to consider signing-up for these free resources. Next weekend, November 19th and 20th, we will be re-launching FORMED in our parish at all the Masses to better understand, live, and share our Catholic faith. This will be a “Bring Your Cell Phone to Mass” opportunity to sign up during a second “reverse collection” or to be assisted by our teens after Mass. In addition, we are offering “Amen,” a free Catholic prayer, meditation, and Scripture app, all just in time for the Advent season. My hope – and prayer – is that the content on FORMED will enrich, deepen, and inspire your faith.
The scamsters never stop their menacing and evil works to deceive those of us who are vulnerable, and they continue to improve their tactics. Many of you have received emails or text messages seemingly from “me,” or cleverly impersonating me, asking you to help with a sick person, buy gift cards, and so on. Please be aware of such nefarious and reprehensible activities, and do not entertain them. Remember, if it plays on your emotions or sounds too good to be true, it’s likely a scam. There are three signs to look for to know if you’re being scammed: 1) You are told to act immediately; 2) They ask for your personal info; 3) You’re asked to pay in an unusual way, such as pay-by-wire transfer, gift card codes, or payment apps.
Advent will begin on the weekend of 26/27 November, 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, the 28th, Tuesday, the 29th, and Wednesday, the 30th. Karl will reflect with us on the theme, “To Joseph and Jesus through Matthew: God with Us at Advent.” Please come and prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior in a fitting and worthy manner.
This weekend, we celebrate the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Scripture readings invite us to reflect on how faithful we are in living out the daily call to be disciples of Jesus. Jesus tells those who were speculating the end of the world and forgetting in the process to live their discipleship, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Luke 21:19). He also tells his disciples that if they remain faithful to him and his mission, they must expect hardship and even be prepared to be hated and persecuted. The Prophet Malachi (3:2a) anticipated it well by saying, “But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” Where do we stand in regard to Jesus’ call to faithful discipleship?
Have a blessed week! With love,
Fr. John