Dear Parishioners:
Last weekend, once again, we had the
experience in our parish of a “double-header” of Grace. Our Second Graders and their families came to
celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The little ones receive two Sacraments for the first time this year –
Reconciliation and Holy Communion. They
are being invited to a life that includes commitment and renewal in preparation
to the wonderful gift of Eternal Life.
The Sacraments are a foretaste of the glory God has in store for us.
The second Grace was the
continuation of the New Evangelization Team’s project of visiting each
household within our parish boundaries.
We had our Seminarian interns and their friends and a few parishioners
participating in the effort this time.
Of special note were parishioners in church praying for the teams as
they went out and the work of our Youth Group to supply lunches for the
Evangelizers. The hope is that many more
will hear the call to take the Gospel to the neighborhood in a personal and
practical way.
God is inviting us to live the
Gospel now. Our life is meant to be a
Sacramental life, that is, a life that includes experiences of the Sacraments
and a life that serves to make God known to others. We are chosen by God to let others know that
He chooses them too.
The promise of Eternity holds out
before us a challenge that stretches us beyond our comfort zone into a living
relationship with God. A commitment is
required of us: we must believe with our whole person, body, mind and spirit,
heart and soul. A willingness to die for
the Faith and to live for it in a world that rejects God is also asked of us.
The greatest challenge is the charge
to share the Faith in such a way that our children become believers through our
words and our example. Actions and
witness speak louder than the words. To
say “I believe” is necessary. But our
Faith means nothing to anyone unless we live it with a heart that is fully
engaged.
This past week, both Fr. Bill and I
were away for a Retreat. This is a
special time of grace where we can spend time with the Lord and with our
brother priests to renew our own priestly commitment. Have you ever taken the opportunity to
experience a Retreat for yourself?
Perhaps the Lord is calling you to deepen your relationship with Him by
such a time of grace. As you make plans
for your holidays and for the new year ahead of us, why not consider a vacation
spent with the Lord?
Year of Faith October
11, 2012 – November 24, 2013
We continue our journey through the Year
of Faith. As one way of observing
this year, each week a small section of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church is read before the start of Mass. This
is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.
CHAPTER THREE MAN’S RESPONSE TO GOD
ARTICLE 2 WE
BELIEVE III. Only One Faith
172
Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples, and nations,
the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the one Lord,
transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have
only one God and Father. (Cf. Ephesians
4:4-6.) St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a witness of this faith, declared:
173
“Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the
ends of the earth, having received the faith from the apostles and their
disciples... guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a
single house, and similarly believes as if having but one soul and a single
heart, and preaches, teaches, and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice,
as if possessing only one mouth.” (St.
Irenaeus 1, 10, 1-2.)
174 “For
though languages differ throughout the world, the content of the Tradition is
one and the same. The Churches established in Germany have no other faith or
Tradition, nor do those of the Iberians, nor those of the Celts, nor those of
the East, of Egypt, of Libya, nor those established at the center of the
world....” (St. Irenaeus 1, 10, 1-2.) The Church’s message “is true and solid,
in which one and the same way of salvation appears throughout the whole world.”
(St. Irenaeus 5, 20, 1.)
175 “We
guard with care the faith that we have received from the Church, for without
ceasing, under the action of God’s Spirit, this deposit of great price, as if
in an excellent vessel, is constantly being renewed and causes the very vessel
that contains it to be renewed.” (St.
Irenaeus 3, 24, 1.)
Comment: Faith forms us
as a family that transcends all the differences among us in language, culture,
way of life and age. We are made one
with each other by the grace of God.
Faith informs culture and it must be cultivated. How does your family promote a culture of
Faith in your home?
Focolare
Word of Life for November 2013: “Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Eph
4:32)
http://www.focolare.org/en/news/category/parola-di-vita/
The New Evangelization at St. Timothy Parish
New Evangelization Team November 9th
Our Seminarian interns,
Stephen Vaccaro and Alex Pacelli, are making the rounds of parish groups to
share their mission for the year at St. Timothy Church. They have visited with the Knights of Columbus,
the Parish Pastoral Council, the Youth Group and with the Home and School
association. They have now had two Door-to-door
missions with Seminarians of the PCJ New Evangelization Club and members of our
Parish this year. Two more will be
planned in the Spring semester.
We thank all of you who participated last weekend
in any way, and especially the families who welcomed the Seminarians into their
homes when they came to visit. They were
very excited upon their return.
Remaining events including the Seminarian interns
for the first semester are as follows:
Nov. 17th - Youth Group
Nov. 24th - Youth Group
Dec. 5th - Planning day at the parish
Anyone who wants to tag along or participate in
some way can contact Stephen Vaccaro at
