News - From the Desk of Fr. Jim

I am aware that sometimes we become so busy that we forget all about our Lenten projects and vows. I want to assure you that there is still time to have a holy and meaningful Lent. What follows are suggestions that I would offer you. First, consider attending the few daily masses before lent is over.

Father Thomas J Boyer, one of the best preachers you’ll hear, will deliver our Lenten Mission this year. His theme will be the Language of the Liturgy. Join us and learn more about your Catholic faith!! Invite your friends to join you.

Our new Early Childhood Center will have six new classrooms, a multipurpose room, an office, an age appropriate playground, as well as ample bathrooms. It will be a state of the art facility to attract young families to our school and our parish. The current Early Childhood classrooms will be converted into meeting rooms for parish groups and activities.

Because Lent is a season of penance, I thought it would be a good time to discuss the difference between mortal and venial sin. All sin is serious and wounds our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes, people have the impression that venial sins are not serious sins. They are. The difference lies in the consequences of the sin. Mortal sin breaks our relationship with God. Venial sin weakens our relationship with God.

Each year the Archbishop approaches his parishes to seek their help in funding his ministries throughout the Archdiocese. Without our financial support, much of the Archbishop’s work would be left undone. For example, the work of educating future priests depends on the generosity of the faithful.

Thus far, I haven’t convinced enough parishioners to give to Ten Buck Sunday. Below, I will lay out my case for your participation. Our Capital Campaign is a $5 million + plan for a state of the art Early Childhood Development Center. We want to bring more young families to our school and parish. We also want to free space currently used by the school and use it for parish ministries.

You see them on lots of street corners, men and women, with cardboard signs, asking for money. Many of us feel guilty if we don’t help them, but to be honest with you, giving them money on the street is not the best way to help. Sometimes those folks are not even the truly poor.

Lent will be here before we know it. To be honest, I frequently find myself dreading Lent, mainly because it almost always becomes unmanageable for priests. Still, of all people, I know that I am in need of a season of conversion, which essentially is what Lent offers us. Below are some suggestions on how to make your Lent more productive spiritually.

One of the great obstacles to the spiritual life is our ego. Often, if we are not careful, we can allow our ego to give us an inaccurate understanding of who we are. Our egos can distort our sense of our abilities, our importance. People with inflated egos are very difficult to work with or live with.

Our Secular Franciscans are gathering gloves to give to the homeless, and I promised them that I would help promote that cause. If you would, consider buying a pair of gloves and bringing them with you to Sunday Mass. Apparently, most of the homeless wear two pair of gloves, a light weight glove and heavier glove over that. So any type of glove will be appreciated. Advent is a great season during which we should do small acts of charity.

The plan of God to rescue the world from the tyrant of sin and darkness included perfect timing for Jesus to be born. In the decades before the birth of Jesus, the world adjacent to the Jews was plagued by war and piracy. The Mediterranean Sea was a very unsafe place to travel. Thus the flow of goods and ideas was hampered. Rome was beginning to establish its authority across Europe Africa and the Middle East, but Rome was restrained by civil wars and rebellions against its influence in the East.

Advent is a liturgical season well suited for a personal revival of one’s faith. I’d like to suggest a few ideas for spiritual growth. First, use your Hallow app, or the USCCB website, to read the readings for each day of Advent. Remember that reading scripture is 1.) a good way to encounter Jesus, and 2.) is an occasion for the forgiveness of venial sin.

While the exact beginnings of the season of Advent remain uncertain, it is clear that there were monastic roots. By the late fifth century, monks were fasting for the forty days before Christmas. In time, the spirituality of Advent spread to the larger church. Christians were instructed to pray, fast, and give alms in preparation for the coming of Jesus at the end of the world and in preparation of the Feast of Christmas.

Our parish had a somewhat unique agreement with the Archdiocese regarding our commitment to the building of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine (via the One Church Many Disciples campaign). We agreed to donate a set amount of $1,100,000 from the $9,000,000 we intended to raise for our facility expansion. everything pledged and donated above the $1.1 million would return to the parish.

If you pay attention to the readings in November, you’ll note that we’re shifting our attention from the demands of discipleship to a reflection on the end of all things. Jesus spoke many times about the end of the world, and how suddenly the end will come.

1. TEN BUCK SUNDAY will occur every month on the Fourth Sunday. We ask everyone 18 and over to donate ten dollars. The money will be used to furnish the Early Childhood Development Center. You will be amazed at the amount of money we can raise through these small gifts.

On November 1, the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints. We are a church confident that countless souls have persevered in grace, triumphed over sin and death, and now rejoice in the house of the Father, which we call heaven. The saints in heaven know of us and pray for us. However, they are not anxious, because they know of God’s ultimate victory over evil.

This year, I have been reading classic American Western, novels including Lonesome Dove, True Grit, and Shane. The Ox Bow Incident, the last of these on my reading list, deals with the problem of justice on the frontier. In the wake of cattle rustling and a killing, a local community strays into revenge and mob justice.

I believe that I have already spoken about how important pilgrimage is to my personal spirituality. I want to write briefly about another theological concept that has shaped me as a believer. I believe that we have two basic choices in life: the choice to live for self alone or the choice to live for God and others. I don’t think we can make the right choice unless we foster an attitude of gratefulness.

The chairs in Ross Hall are in very bad shape. We’ve had them for years, used them for years, and, frankly, they look horrible. Some of them look so bad, no one in their right mind will sit on them. So, we have options: cleaning; recovering; buying new chairs. Cleaning is the least expensive option but it’s too late for many of the chairs;