Hi Everybody!
It has been so long since I have seen or spoken to so many of you. But I pray for you daily in Mass and in other prayers. I pray for your protection from the virus, your overall well-being, and for your spiritual welfare. Please call if I can do anything for you or if you just want to talk.
Thank you for your prayers, cards and generous contributions. Even now, your goodness and love shine through! I have used this time to improve some things in the rectory. I have done a lot of organizing, pitching, and cleaning. I have had some phone appointments & counseling sessions. Pat, Diana and Linda have been heroes here, using the time well while practicing “social distancing.” Linda has been monitoring the food pantry well. She has had to re-stock it as quite a few needs have been met. Pat and Diana have assisted me to administer the parish in a strange time. A psalm verse from Psalm 144 comes to mind: “Reach down from heaven and save me…” I pray that God’s mighty, yet tender hand will protect me and all of you from anxiety, boredom, fear, sin, and harmful pain. This happens when God’s energy from within me and you empower us. It empowers us to let go of how we think life should be and embrace it as it is with faith. Why would we embrace life as it is when it is unpleasant? Because God is in what we enjoy but God is also present even in what is unpleasant. When we embrace God in every situation, we become more Christ-like. And peace is more able to rule in our hearts. When we do this, we are able to sing another verse in Psalm 144: “To You, O God, will I sing a new song; I will play on the ten-stringed harp, to You who gives kings (us) their victory…”
Finally, the plan is for me, with the help of my staff, to offer you a recording of this Sunday’s Mass on YouTube, our Video Gallery and Facebook) it will be offered to you at 11:00 a.m. this Sunday, May 10th. That is…if we are successful in the technology.
Love,
Fr. Pete