Memo from Msgr. Raun- Tuesday September 1st, 2020
| My dear family, Greetings in the Lord Jesus, as we enter the month of September ! REASONS TO TRUST YOUR SHATTERED SOUL TO GOD'S STRENGTH God’s Promises Never Fail Unlike humans, God is perfect, unfailing, and has given promises to declare over your life in times (or seasons) of sorrow and hardship. In His Holy Word, God declares that He is capable, willing, and is going to supply your needs. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19 His word also provides you with details on what exactly He will supply when times are tough. Yes, he supplies salvation through Jesus, but he also supplies tools to use throughout the day to help you live your life to the full. (John 10:10) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7 When times are tough, it makes sense that you might find yourself sad, hurt, broken, or spiraling out of control. You may even find yourself battling the temptation to run back to old habits and addictions that leave you feeling more empty and broken. That doesn’t have the be the only option though. Like Phil 4:7 says, with God there is a peace that can overtake you that goes beyond what your human mind can understand. With God, you have access to a Holy peace that guards you from those thoughts that rob you of joy and send you back to the places that left you feeling empty. James 4:8 is another great example of a beautiful promise the Lord sends us. When feeling low, remind yourself that His word says “come near to God and he will come near to you.” So when the doubt wants to come in, and the battle between truth and lies invades your mind, you can declare this truth that God is near, because you drew near to Him. His word says that He will not fail, will supply every need, and when you come near to God, he responds by coming near to you; therefore, he is with you. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT : OUR FALL PARISH SPRITUAL CAMPAIGN !!! The great Spanish nun St. Teresa de Avila, once said: “There is only one path that leads to God, and that is prayer.” How important those words are to us at this moment in our lives. When you study the renewal movements in history, they always start with prayer. Folks, our nation is in deep, deep trouble right now. Our Church is in deep, deep trouble right now. We need revival, renewal and refreshment in our hearts! A fresh sense of joy. A fresh sense of God’s presence. I believe that this all comes through prayer. And that is why we as a parish family are going to have for six weeks not a political campaign but a spiritual campaign – 40 Days of Prayer! This will start the weekend of September 19-20. A spiritual campaign is where we as a parish focus in on just one thing – learning how to pray, and to pray better! There are four things that we are going to do. Each week the Sunday sermon will be about an aspect of prayer. Then during the week, we will have small groups meeting by Zoom to listen to a presentation by me on prayer, followed by time for discussion and prayer. Then each day we will commit to spend quiet time with God in prayer and meditating on His Word. As your pastor, I’m asking you to commit to these simple things for six weeks – attend or at least listen to our parish Sunday Mass, join a Zoom small group for a weekly meeting, give time for daily prayer and time to meditate on God’s Word. Friends, there is nothing more important than you having a life of close fellowship with God! He is God your best friend? This is what God is offering you in this spiritual campaign. I do hope you will join us in our 40 Days of Prayer! 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. 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. WE STILL DON'T KNOW how to implement the new 40% rule for church attendance, while still keeping social distancing. It's complicated. But we are working on it. This past weekend we had 1163 people at Mass, with the Saturday 5 pm and the Sunday 9 am and 11 am the best attended. 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 : Quotes from one of the greatest Christian teachers of the 20th Century, C.S. Lewis...…. “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” 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 she saw her first strands of grey hair she thought she'd dye. Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it. Those who get too big for their pants will be totally exposed in the end. OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.... God Almighty, eternal, righteous, and merciful, give to us poor sinners to do for Thy sake all that we know of Thy will, and to will always what pleases Thee; so that inwardly purified, enlightened, and kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit, we may follow in the footprints of Thy well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 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 | | |
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Posted in Daily Memo from Msgr. Raun
1 Comment
Msgr,
It sounds like the parish members will be "Prayer Warriors" for the 6 week period! This couldn't come at a better time for us, our Church and country!