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Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 25, 2022

Dear friends,

It is already one year since last September 26th when your unworthy servant was installed as the pastor of this wonderous family of St. John’s. I almost forgot about it until one of you had sent a lovely card to remind me of the occasion. I take this occasion to thank the almighty for his continuous blessing upon this undeserving soul and I want to thank you all for your incredible generosity and unstinting love which makes our church an amazing family of faith.  St. Paul in his First Letter to Timothy invites us to “Compete well for the faith,” and to keep the commandment without stain or reproach.”  Please continue to pray for me that I might compete well not only for my faith but also for all of our faith and those that we love that we might never waver or be found slacking. You are an amazing people. Let us strive eagerly to make our community a true family of well loving and caring and generous people.

Today, on the 26th Sunday in Year C, Jesus challenges us yet again through the powerful story of a rich man dressed in purple garments and fine linen who dined sumptuously every day and the poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Upon their death you will be utterly shocked to know of their changed circumstances, a complete reversal of their lives on earth. While the poor Lazarus is seated at the bosom of Abraham, the rich man, who goes nameless, is in hell, a total irreversible ever lasting place of torment. Apart from reflecting on many themes that this unique passage provides, we can think of hunger and starvation. It is estimated that as many as 829 million people still go hungry. Although the world had been making significant progress in reducing hunger, we still have people that experience hunger affecting nearly 10% of people globally, not to speak of our own community in Brevard where so many children go hungry. We are standing with Children’s Hunger Project and we help them pack food every year in December. I will remind you about it when the time is appropriate. May be this week we are invited to reflect on what we can do to not to waste food? We waste a lot of food on a daily basis which is unconscionable. The prophet Amos has some strong words for those who revel in their luxury unmindful of those who suffer saying: “Woe to the complacent in Zion!” ((6: 1).

Thanks to Fr. Vincent for his reflection on the Congregation of Holy Cross.  We have talked about it numerous times in the past but still it is good to revisit it time to time so that we can come to appreciate how God continues to work through various means and people.  Now that you know that the motto of the Congregation of Holy Cross is “Ave Crux, Spes Unica,” you will see the Cross and Anchor with the motto underneath etched right in front of the church so that you might always remember, CROSS is our only HOPE.

On the Feast of the Archangels (Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael) which falls on Thursday 29th September, we will honor our first responders by celebrating the Blue Mass at 12.05 p.m. Please come and pray for the safety of all those who keep us safe.

On Saturday, 1st October we will have the blessing of Animals at 12 p.m. in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of all the animals and ecology. Although the feast of St. Francis falls on the 4th October, we will do the blessing on Saturday closest to the feast for your convenience. Please bring your pets to the portico in front of the hall to be blessed.

Our celebrations on Sunday, October 2, 2022 are very significant ones and so please do not miss out on this. We will celebrate with Bishop John Noonan and thank God for the many blessings he has showered upon us.  Please join us for the 11 a.m. Mass.  A picnic luncheon will follow, and there will be games and goodies for the kids.  Please help us to better serve you by indicating how many in your family will be attending the luncheon in one of three ways:  using the tear-off sheet from the bulletin, going to our website, or calling the office at 321-637-9650.  Due to the potential threat of a tropical storm, we will postpone the Eucharistic Procession to a later date.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

I would also request that those who are able to assist with the many planned activities visit our website and use the SignUpGenius to respond.  In addition, we are asking for donations of water bottles, sodas, and cookies for all to enjoy on that day.

Have a blessed week!

With love,

Fr. John