Memo from Msgr. Raun- Tuesday September 22nd, 2020
| My dear family, Greetings in the Lord Jesus! BENEFITS OF WORSHIPING DURING "Why, God?" HARDSHIPS Worship Grows Our Faith This earth is the only place we’ll ever need faith. Like other muscles in our body, in order to grow them, we need to exercise them. When we get to heaven, we will know the answers to questions that have plagued us for years. Worshiping God reminds us of all the things God has brought us through. When David faced Goliath, he was reminded of God’s strength and how God helped him before in his times of need. Faith is what made David run toward the giant—instead of away from him (which is what every other person had done). As we worship, our Spirit reminds us of God’s character. Even verses we had learned years ago will pop up in our minds confirming that faith comes by hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17). PRAISE REPORT! Our Adoration Under the Stars was a great success and a blessing greatly needed at this time. Our back parking lot was filled to the max. God sent us perfect weather. The music was heavenly. The the outdoor altar was beautiful. Most of all, our Eucharistic Lord touched all present. We must thank God. What a beginning to our 40 Days of Prayer. Many thanks to everyone who helped, especially our Knights of Columbus who directed the parking and provided the Honor Guard for our Lord. I have received so many positive compliments about the Adoration Under the Stars from so many of you, and that makes me very happy. Some have suggested that we do this every week (someone even suggested we do it every day for the 40 Days of Prayer!). It's a beautiful thought, but I'm afraid that people don't realize how much work it takes to put this on - not so much for me but for many other people. It would take a lot more volunteers than we have at the moment. So, having discussed this with the staff, I think we will be keeping this for special occasions. God bless you all! 40 DAYS OF PRAYER ! We are now in our Fall spiritual campaign – 40 Days of Prayer! Our small groups have gotten off to a great start! They are the heart of this campaign! It you have a personal computer, tablet, or smart phone with Internet access, you can join. Just go to the parish website - stanm.org - and click on the join button. Then you will also be emailed the Scripture verse we are meditating on each day. (I just had a nice man give me a phone call. For the first time, he joined on of the small groups that met by Zoom last night. He said he had never seen so many happy Catholics in one place.) And remember the personal challenge I am giving to all of you - five minutes a day in conversational prayer with God, and five minutes a day meditating on Scripture. Come Holy Spirit, and by a renewed life of prayer in our parish, set our hearts on fire for Jesus Christ! A MESSAGE FROM OUR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: The last Sunday of September - the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Vincent De Paul - we keep as St. V de P Sunday in our parish. Normally, we have a member of the Society address the congregation at each Mass. This year, with the time restraints on Mass we have been given by the Archbishop, that is not possible. So, here is the annual report of the Society to the parish. Sunday, September 27th, is the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul, and we usually hear from one of our Vincentians with their annual report that weekend at all Masses. Our parish is blessed to have a very active and vibrant conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international lay ministry, and being part of the Society is a calling from God, and an inspiration from the Holy Spirit, which grows through actions and leads its members to grace. As members, Vincentians live their faith. Our parish support has been phenomenal, year after year, and especially during this pandemic period. Last year the total donations to this conference were over $170,000, with the total distribution for assistance to the needy over $162,000 for rent payments, utilities, food and transportation support. This lay ministry completed 584 home visits assisting almost 1500 people in distress. At our last Thanksgiving distribution, the conference provided food for 604 families, over 2800 needy people. During the current pandemic, our conference supported our parish with the initial funds for the care kits to quickly get food and supplies to those who were unable to go out to stores and who were in need of critical help. It is because of our parishioners that our conference is able to do these things and help spread God’s graces. And just a heads up - this year the Thanksgiving distribution led by our conference at St. Thomas Aquinas will be a bit different. Plans are being formulated to provide for a drive-thru distribution run. Donations of frozen turkeys and frozen pies will continue, but other foods will not be accepted due to sanitizing requirements. Monetary donations will be accepted instead, and gift cards will be used for the needy to purchase groceries to complete their Thanksgiving dinners. More information will be forthcoming as we get closer to that time. Thank you again for your continued support: your time, your prayers and your donations to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. And may I add my unbounded love and admiration for our St. Vincent de Paul Society and its members - Msgr. R LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE : We thank God that the number of new corona virus cases are going down in our state, but it's clear that this is far from over. We have buried three people from our parish who have died from Covid. Therefore, having discussed this with the parish staff, we will continue for the time being to limit those who serve as ushers and Eucharistic ministers to those who are under the age of 60. These are the only two ministries that are "age limited". The reason is that these two ministries bring people into close contact with the general public, and people over 60 tend to be "high-risk" with this virus. I'm told that some of our older ushers and Eucharistic ministers are saying that they were "fired". That makes me very sad. No, they have been granted a "medical leave-of-absence". I, and the whole parish, are deeply grateful for all our senior parishioners do. (By the way, I am one of those senior parishioners :-) As soon as this medical emergency is over (my guess is, sometime in the middle of next year), everyone gets to go back to their former ministries. In the meantime, we still need our younger parishioners to step up, especially to be ushers and Eucharistic ministers. The Governor's new order allowing churches to increase the number of people has allowed us to postpone having duplicate Masses in the Hall, but the day is coming when we will have to do that (I'm already thinking about Christmas!). This will require many more volunteers for ushering, Eucharistic ministers, and help in setting up and sanitizing the Hall - volunteers we do not have right now. Those of you under 60 - our Lord and His People need you! Call the parish office - 892-1511. Offer your service to the Lord. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW: I'm taking off to the mountains for a few days, and will not be around this weekend. Frs. McKee and Young will take good care of the parish in my absence. I'll be back latter next week. HOW TO GO TO MASS: 1. All Masses - just show up. But remember that we have to close off the church when we reach 300 people in attendance. 2. Wear a mask. 3. Be prepared to receive Communion in the hand. IF WE REACH 300 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. Holy 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...…. “Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE: Some more play-on-words.... Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity??? What disease did cured ham actually have? OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: A prayer for our world and nation..... Dear God, As we face these uncertain times in our nation and the world, we ask you, Lord, to dwell among us. We are comforted by the knowledge that You alone are our Savior and Lord, and the ultimate Master of life. We trust our nation to Your loving care, Lord. Send Your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it. Give us Your light and Your truth to guide us in our ways so that we may seek Your will in our lives and impact the world around us for Your Kingdom. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. 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
3 Comments
Enjoy your mountain stay !! I too will be gone need a break from life . (Lol)
Have a safe trip! We will be praying for you.
Monsignor. Thank You For All You do for your parish family! Thank You is so little to express. Please know You are loved by your parish family.AND take care of yourself For Us