Dear Parishioners,
The TEC weekend last week was wonderful! There were 35 people making the TEC for the first time, and was one of the largest TECs I worked. God was definitely working as a number of people let go of hurts and pains of the past, found forgiveness and the love of God, and began asking to become Catholic! Thanks for your prayers.
This weekend, we begin Catholic Schools Week. I am so thankful for our School, and for your support of it. There is a tremendous support system of volunteers, benefactors, and prayer warriors. This is what makes our school stand out from even other Catholic Schools (but I am a little biased, too). Catholic schools by and large enjoy higher academic successes, possibly due to the teaching of morality and ethics, smaller class sizes, and teacher commitment (not that these are altogether missing in our public schools, though). The success of our Catholic school ultimately lies in the faith formation that Catholic education provides. But this formation is not automatic by any stretch. It needs reinforcement at home and most especially at Sunday Mass. My hope and prayer for all of our Catholic School Students (and actually after school RE students, though modified) is that they take the faith they have learned, the example of service they have witnessed, and the model of practice of the faith at Mass and prayer, will grow and become a part of the student as they move through life.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Pastor's Notes for January 20
Dear Parishioners,
Sympathy to Shannon Marotzke and family at the death of her father Allen Engstrom, and to Dan and Linda Weber at the death of his mother Beatrice Weber. May they rest in peace.
Welcome Fr. Mark Mallak who is covering Masses this weekend as I am at TEC.
Tuesday of this week marks the 40th anniversary of the tragic Roe Versus Wade decision. Since then, more than 55 million (over 4 times the number of those killed in the Holocaust, and 20 times the number of Americans injured or killed in all wars since the Revolutionary war, and 3 million more than those killed in the Sandy Hook shootings, not to politicize that tragedy)! Were is the outcry for the innocent lives lost? Where are the government task forces or recommendations for limiting access to abortion mills? These innocent, unseen and too easily forgotten souls are human, too. We pray for an end of abortion. We must work to eliminate the 'need' for abortion by helping those who are in difficult circumstances of pregnancy, and most of all need to remember that every life is precious. We also need to 'reconnect' marriage, fertility, openness to life, and family life. These last years, we have only witnessed the further disintegration of these. We see co-habitation and promiscuity on the rise, single mothers, children shuttled between divorced parents, domestic violence, and all sorts of other societal problems. The Church will continue to be a voice of reason and call to change, but it takes us to raise our voices.
Next week is the start of Catholic Schools Week. We will have our special collection next weekend because of the Carnival the following weekend.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
Sympathy to Shannon Marotzke and family at the death of her father Allen Engstrom, and to Dan and Linda Weber at the death of his mother Beatrice Weber. May they rest in peace.
Welcome Fr. Mark Mallak who is covering Masses this weekend as I am at TEC.
Tuesday of this week marks the 40th anniversary of the tragic Roe Versus Wade decision. Since then, more than 55 million (over 4 times the number of those killed in the Holocaust, and 20 times the number of Americans injured or killed in all wars since the Revolutionary war, and 3 million more than those killed in the Sandy Hook shootings, not to politicize that tragedy)! Were is the outcry for the innocent lives lost? Where are the government task forces or recommendations for limiting access to abortion mills? These innocent, unseen and too easily forgotten souls are human, too. We pray for an end of abortion. We must work to eliminate the 'need' for abortion by helping those who are in difficult circumstances of pregnancy, and most of all need to remember that every life is precious. We also need to 'reconnect' marriage, fertility, openness to life, and family life. These last years, we have only witnessed the further disintegration of these. We see co-habitation and promiscuity on the rise, single mothers, children shuttled between divorced parents, domestic violence, and all sorts of other societal problems. The Church will continue to be a voice of reason and call to change, but it takes us to raise our voices.
Next week is the start of Catholic Schools Week. We will have our special collection next weekend because of the Carnival the following weekend.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Pastor's Notes for January 13
Dear Parishioners,
This weekend, we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is also the official end of the Christmas season. This feast reminds us that Jesus comes to do the will of His Father and identifies Himself with sinful humanity by taking the baptism of repentance (though He was sinless), and in doing so transforms it into the Sacrament of Baptism that by His death and Resurrection regenerates us, and claims us for God our heavenly Father. This week is also National Vocations Awareness Week (just a note that in 2014 it will be moved to November). In our Baptism, God calls us, and we are opened up to His plan for our lives. God calls all of us. Some He calls to specific Church Vocations such as Holy Orders or Religious Life, while many are called to Marriage. Note that Marriage is a vocation - just as holy and as important as priesthood, deaconate, or religious life. How? As we will hear next week in the Gospel, when a couple invites Jesus into their lives, He takes the ordinary and transforms it into the very best! Couples unite themselves not just because they love each other, but because they want to co-create a family, and to raise any children that come from their union in the faith of Christ Jesus.
Next weekend, I will be away for a TEC, along with a few others from our AFC. Please keep them in prayer. For anyone who has not made a TEC and is interested, there is still time to register - contact me.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
This weekend, we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is also the official end of the Christmas season. This feast reminds us that Jesus comes to do the will of His Father and identifies Himself with sinful humanity by taking the baptism of repentance (though He was sinless), and in doing so transforms it into the Sacrament of Baptism that by His death and Resurrection regenerates us, and claims us for God our heavenly Father. This week is also National Vocations Awareness Week (just a note that in 2014 it will be moved to November). In our Baptism, God calls us, and we are opened up to His plan for our lives. God calls all of us. Some He calls to specific Church Vocations such as Holy Orders or Religious Life, while many are called to Marriage. Note that Marriage is a vocation - just as holy and as important as priesthood, deaconate, or religious life. How? As we will hear next week in the Gospel, when a couple invites Jesus into their lives, He takes the ordinary and transforms it into the very best! Couples unite themselves not just because they love each other, but because they want to co-create a family, and to raise any children that come from their union in the faith of Christ Jesus.
Next weekend, I will be away for a TEC, along with a few others from our AFC. Please keep them in prayer. For anyone who has not made a TEC and is interested, there is still time to register - contact me.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Pastor's notes for January 6
Dear Parishioners,
In my focus on the Holy Days, I forgot to wish you in print a Happy New Year. I certainly do hope that this year of 2013 will find us more faithful, growing in charity and hope.
I am thankful for the Terry and Laurie Ourada Family for their donation of quiet bags and bag trees which have been placed in our parishes' entries. These bags are filled with books to help your young children.
This weekend we celebrate Epiphany, as Christ is revealed a king to the nations. Wise men came from far seeking Him, guided by the light of the star. They offer Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, all very valuable gifts. This feast should help us to ask am I following the light of faith to worship Jesus Christ in the Church, and am I giving Him the best of who I am? I hate to admit it, but at times, my gift to the Lord is like a donation of food to the food shelf - I simply look at what's in the cupboard and give whatever I do not want any longer. Recently, I was told of a food shelf collection where they staff could not keep a quarter of the food - it had passed its expiration date (in fact, there was a can of tuna that was over 10 years passed its date!). No, the Lord wants the first and the best, not the rest. When we give Him the best, He gratefully accepts it, blesses it, and returns it to us! But we have to trust Him. SO we follow the example of the wise men of old - bring the best gifts.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
In my focus on the Holy Days, I forgot to wish you in print a Happy New Year. I certainly do hope that this year of 2013 will find us more faithful, growing in charity and hope.
I am thankful for the Terry and Laurie Ourada Family for their donation of quiet bags and bag trees which have been placed in our parishes' entries. These bags are filled with books to help your young children.
This weekend we celebrate Epiphany, as Christ is revealed a king to the nations. Wise men came from far seeking Him, guided by the light of the star. They offer Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, all very valuable gifts. This feast should help us to ask am I following the light of faith to worship Jesus Christ in the Church, and am I giving Him the best of who I am? I hate to admit it, but at times, my gift to the Lord is like a donation of food to the food shelf - I simply look at what's in the cupboard and give whatever I do not want any longer. Recently, I was told of a food shelf collection where they staff could not keep a quarter of the food - it had passed its expiration date (in fact, there was a can of tuna that was over 10 years passed its date!). No, the Lord wants the first and the best, not the rest. When we give Him the best, He gratefully accepts it, blesses it, and returns it to us! But we have to trust Him. SO we follow the example of the wise men of old - bring the best gifts.
In Christ,
Fr. Todd
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