As we have been working through the parish pastoral plan, we now arrive at the final section, the pastoral priorities. I would like to do an overview this week before looking at the priorities individually.

Continuing my exploration of the Parish Pastoral Plan, I now delve into the third Core Value of the Parish Plan – Sacrificial Generosity. There are three bullet points to describe what that means: (1) God first, others second, I am third; (2) I let God interrupt my plans; (3) I have gifts worth giving. Again, I would like to expand upon these bullet points.

You are the salt of the earth, …the light of the world. (Mt. 5) Are we living this vocation in our families, friendships, and other relationships? If we ignore our circles of influence and “travel across land and sea to make one convert” (Mt. 23:15), then who will speak to those we have abandoned? Saint (Mother) Teresa of Kolkata’s response to one who wanted to move to India to serve with her was similar: “grow where you are planted.”

Bill gives an update on the funds that were distributed for the Outreach program in 2020.

The reading today ends with the words of the Father over the Lord Jesus. These words are huge and should be prayed about in depth for every one of us. That’s why I included the next verse above. The first thing Jesus does is He goes to the desert (wilderness) to get away from everything and think about what the Father is doing in Him.   Have you ever let these words, spoken over you in your Baptism, to sink into the core of your being?

If you could listen in on the conversations with folks who call for assistance, you would be humbled, as indeed we are. The fear and growing panic in many of their voices has reached ever new levels during the pandemic. The biggest fear is that they’re alone, that nobody notices them or cares about them...

In his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, Pope Francis has asked the universal church to give special focus to Saint Joseph for the year of 2021. As the husband of Mary, the mother of God and thus the foster father of the Lord Jesus, Joseph deserves our attention in a particular way. This call for a year of St. Joseph marks the 150th anniversary of his being named   universal patron of the church. As such a patron, it means every single one of us is able to seek his support.

So many emotions, the heights and the depths, are swirling in the hearts of the faithful nowadays throughout our country and our world. This great day of celebration of Christmas, in the midst of the most severe pandemic in living memory, offers us a unique perspective on what is important in life. While the secular view has its own perspective on what it deems “essential,” with the eyes of faith we are able to see the deeper meaning of life in the story that begins in a manger – with centuries of prelude through the patriarchs and prophets...

With Christmas in under a week and COVID spiking, we estimate larger crowds but manageable ones for the great solemnity. We do intend to use the overflow areas in the gymnasium and perhaps Payne Hall as needed. Pray that it all works well and please help things to be successful by extending patience and mercy.

Happy Gaudete Sunday! The Latin word for "rejoice!" is the first word of the entrance antiphon for Sunday's Mass. With this Christmas soon upon us, we will all rejoice at the near end of 2020, the year of the worst pandemic in living memory...

Please study this and pray with the parish plan to learn how God wants you to be a part of this important work for your own personal discipleship and for the benefit of your parish family and local community to whom we are called to serve and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the back of church you should find multiple display boards that give a visual update to our renovation plans for the church.

Big news: our pastoral plan is finally ready! For the past year a group of twelve has been developing a three-year plan for our parish. Based on the results from the Catholic Leadership Institute’s Disciple Maker Index (parish survey) and the parish site-visit, which included interviewing many people in the parish, the “envisioning team” worked through the hiccups of 2020 to establish a vision and set goals for our parish.