A Word from Your Pastor - August 17

Dear Parishioners:

Faith is meant to be shared.  “I believe in God” is a statement of a relationship that has consequences.  It is not something private.  It is not a matter of taste or preference.  It is a commitment that requires a movement that takes place both in the heart and in the world.  “I believe” is an act of trust in the Power that is behind the very existence of the universe and in the Grace that transforms the “stuff” of this world into the substance of the world to come.

As we prepare to enter into a new year of School and a new season of Religious education, I invite you and your family to make a new act of Faith together.  Let God be truly the Lord of your life.  Change your priorities.  Review where you have been in regard to practice of your Faith.  Remember where we are all headed.  And choose to be true to your Profession of Faith.  Does every member of your family know that your family belongs to God first?

We have a church building.  All of us are expected to be there together at the very least once a week (for Sunday Mass), sometimes twice depending on the timing of Holy Days of Obligation.  We have a school building and parish center where most of the community spends at least a few days a week for education and recreation.  A third dimension of our life together happens here and there, but not necessarily with much intentionality:  the reality of Catechesis, the process by which the Faith we profess is incorporated into the fabric of our lives.  In the months and years ahead, we will be giving more attention to this aspect of our life together.

"Catechesis is nothing other than the process of transmitting the Gospel, as the Christian community has received it, understands it, celebrates it, lives it and communicates it in many ways." (General Directory for Catechesis #105)

As a Parish Family, we are called to Worship, to Education, and to Catechesis with and beyond our community.  The Good Shepherd will lead us as we seek to follow Him.  Let us together discover how our act of Faith is meant to change the world.