Dear Fellow Parishioners, Mid-term elections, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Oh My! Lots of events coming our way, and some are feeling anxious and overwhelmed just thinking about it. We want to do the right thing, to be the best father, mother, husband, wife, grandmother, grandfather, son, daughter, student, priest. Whatever role or roles or hats you wear we want to do a good job. Missing from the list above is Advent-the four weeks the church gives us to prepare for the celebration of a new-birth of Christ within our hearts. I firmly believe that if I want to be a good priest, I must simply focus on being a man of prayer. When that is my focus, everything else fits into place. You want to be a good father, focus on being a man of prayer. Want to be a good mother, focus on being a woman of prayer. Catch the drift? Lots of preparation goes into preparing a thanksgiving Feast. Have you thought of going to Mass Thanksgiving morning and spending a little time that day in prayer before the banquet and the family gatherings? Every Thanksgiving, we bless the food we will share with others, so I encourage everyone to bring something that will be on your table. Are you away for Thanksgiving? Find where the nearest Catholic Church is and when they hold their Thanksgiving Mass. Invite the family to come along with you. The four weeks of Advent are a time of listening and becoming a person of prayer through the example and encouragement of John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph. We will have advent reflection materials at the doors of the church, check them out. Now is the time to remove all fear of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and be untied and set free from the wounds and sins that have weighted us down. Set the fear aside and walk in faith and receive the gift of forgiveness. I am inviting parents of children making their First Reconciliation to take the same opportunity that day and come to confession. We will have a communal Reconciliation Service on Monday December 19th at 7:00 P.M. Why not start preparing to make a good confession?
We can get so overwhelmed and anxious about many events coming our way. When only one think is necessary, becoming a person of prayer. By focusing on that, everything else will fall into place!