Memo from Msgr. Raun - Tuesday, August 25th, 2020
| My dear family, Greetings in the Lord Jesus! WAYS THAT COVID SHOWS HOW DESPERATLY THE WORLD NEEDS GOD Living for the Temporary Doesn’t Cut it Anymore As Americans, in particular, we have put too much stock in our leaders, and our comforts and our “security” on this earth. Even as believers, we had grown comfortable until life on earth wasn’t comfortable anymore. We found ourselves at the breaking point when we realized we had enjoyed a great economy, a thriving business, and many luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of living in the most prosperous nation on earth. Then we saw it all go to pot. Crashed economy. Civil unrest. Racial tensions. Political divisiveness. Hate, anger and unrest abounded. We found ourselves saying “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” And then we realized why we had been so affected by all this: we had lost my longing for heaven. Colossians 3:1-2 advises, “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Matthew 6:33 tells us “seek first His kingdom (not a prosperous life on this earth) and His righteousness (not your own conveniences), and all these things will be added to you”. And Jesus told us “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21. This world and its comforts and conveniences will pass away. And therefore, we need God and an eternal mindset of the glorious riches that await us as heirs of Christ (Ephesians 1) ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ANSWERS? Do you need a refresher course in the Faith? Perhaps, you’ve been away for a while and need to get back into practice…but, you want to know the why of it all. THE ALPHA COURSE is an 11-week course for anyone wanting to learn more about our Christian beliefs and practices. Participants learn the answers to basic questions of life, “What is my purpose here?”, “What does God want of Me?” “Who is Jesus?” “Why did Jesus die?” “Why should I read the Bible?” and “How do I pray?” If you are seeking answers to these and other questions in your life, then Alpha, a no cost, no obligation, no commitment class is chance for you to join others in seeking answers to life’s questions and more. Our next ALPHA begins in 8 September, you can go online at our website (stanm.org) and register for the course. THE WEEKEND WENT WELL in the parish, with the highest post-Covid attendance that we have seen so far: 1140. Praise God. The 11 am Mass is consistently reaching near 250 persons (our current limit), so we intend to start a second 11 am Mass in the Parish Hall the Sunday after Labor Day - September 13th. As other Masses increase, we will consider having Mass in the Hall at those times also. We priests are happy to do this. But we will need ushers and Eucharistic Ministers for any additional Masses. These are the only two ministries we are limiting to "low-risk" (under 60 and in good health) people. My heart rejoices at the "low-risk" volunteers we currently have - they are so good and are working so hard. But my heart is a little sad that relatively few "low-risk" parishioners have offered their services to the Church. Sadly, everybody wants the family of God to serve them, but many do not want to serve the family of God. Dear friends, if you are a "low-risk" parishioner and are not currently serving in a ministry, you need to ask yourself why you are not offering yourself to the work of God. Just call the office and leave your name and phone number, and we will find a ministry for you! RELIGIOUS EDUCATION will take place this fall! There will be First Confession and First Communion classes, as well as Confirmation Class. There will be catechism classes for our grade school children, as well as Edge for middle school and LifeTeen for high school. These will all be a combination of on-line and in-person learning as the ever-changing situation warrants, following the directives of the Archdiocese and the State. To register your children, just go to the parish website (stanm.org), or call the parish office (892-1511). We cannot let our children and young adults go without the most important knowledge of all - the knowledge of Jesus Christ! Many thanks to our teachers, who are working so hard and being so creative in finding ways to teach our children in these challenging times! HOW TO GO TO MASS: 1. All Masses - just show up. But remember that we have to close off the church when we reach 250 people in attendance. 2. Wear a mask. 3. Be prepared to receive Communion in the hand. IF WE REACH 250 PEOPLE AT A MASS, and a person arrives after that, they will be invited to come to another Mass, or they can go to their car and wait, and they will be allowed to join the Communion line at the end of Mass. We are now broadcasting every Sunday Mass on our new low-wattage FM transmitter, at 106.5 FM. You can receive this signal from anyplace in the parking lot of the church. Communion outside the doors of the Fr. D'Arco Parish Hall is distributed after the Sunday 9 am Mass for those who do not yet feel comfortable going inside the church. CONFESSIONS: Weekdays: 8 am and 5 pm Saturday: 8 am and 2:30 pm EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT: Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES,SICK CALLS and FUNERALS are all taking place, albeit under the restrictions mandated by the Archbishop and the Governor. Just call the parish office and we will gladly help you with the preparations needed. PLEASE SHARE ALL THIS INFORMATION WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET! HOLINESS TIP : The Supernatural Power of Humility, According to the Saints “By that descent and ascent we must surely understand nothing else than this, that we descend by self-exaltation and ascend by humility. “And the ladder thus set up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven, if our heart is humbled. “For we call our body and soul the sides of the ladder, and into these sides of our divine vocation and inserted the different steps of humility and discipline we must climb.” (St. Benedict) LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE: These are "play on words". They are really clever, but you have to think about them. Sometimes it helps to say them out loud: When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall. Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off? He's all right now. A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired. OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: a prayer in honor of the Queenship of our Lady... O Mary Immaculate Queen, look down upon this distressed and suffering world. You know our misery and our weakness. O thou who art our Mother, saving us in the hour of peril, have compassion on us in these days of great and heavy trial. Jesus has confided to you the treasure of His grace, and through you He wills to grant us pardon and mercy. In these hours of anguish, therefore, your children come to you as their hope. We recognize your Queenship and ardently desire your triumph. We need a Mother and a Mother's Heart. You are for us the luminous dawn which dissipates our darkness and points out the way to life. In your clemency obtain for us the courage and the confidence of which we have such need. Most Holy and Adorable Trinity, You Who did crown with glory in Heaven the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Savior, grant that all her children on earth may acknowledge her as their Sovereign Queen, that all hearts, homes, and nations may recognize her as Mother and as Queen. Amen. I send you my fatherly blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen! Msgr. Doug Raun |
Posted in Daily Memo from Msgr. Raun
No Comments