Dear Parishioners:
This weekend’s Second Collection is
our annual collection for the Propagation of the Faith. This is the Church’s Missionary effort,
inviting us to assist materially in the project of taking the Gospel to the nations. Pope Francis is also challenging us to take
up the charge very personally, seeking to share our joy in the Gospel in
practical ways so as to lead others to Jesus.
We are meant to be people who share our Faith.
The news is full of ways in which religion
is misused to create division and to cause harm. Our Faith is often ridiculed and rejected
because of misunderstandings concerning its meaning. At times, the truths we share are distorted
and made to appear as something less than compassion.
The reality of our Faith is that it
is given the capacity to bridge the greatest gap of all – the distance between
God and human beings. Our Faith tells us
that God took the initiative and became one of us in the Person of Jesus
Christ. When we are open to this
profound revelation, we become God’s own instruments of continuing to share the
Life He offers.
I invite you to allow the Spirit to
lead you and your family to a greater depth in your practice of the Faith. Let this be a year of growth in grace. Here are some practical ideas:
- Find a way to pray together as a family: the Rosary,
the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reading of Scripture together, or some other
devotion you share.
- “Decorate” your home so that anyone who comes in will
realize that Jesus lives there with you as a true member of your
family. Consider signing up to be
host to the Pilgrim Statue of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, sponsored by the
St. Timothy Women’s Club.
- Make a list of people you will pray for and invite
personally to consider sharing Faith.
Become a practical missionary, leading others to share friendship
with Jesus.
- Begin to prepare for the World Meeting of Families and
the Visit of Pope Francis to
Let us be a people who draw others
to Faith to and the joy that only Jesus can give.
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